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How would you reimagine Tree/Chutespeak?


Matoro11

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If ever there was another Bionicle movie made that featured a Toa/Matoran of Air, how would you guys re-imagine the Le-Matoran dialect? I watched all three movies and I liked Lewa’s wispy, fluid, almost Irish way of talking in MoL. I would like to have seen them really lean into that Irish brogue. I think it works well with their elemental attribute.

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M11

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  • 4 weeks later...

i would avoid changing the actual words (cuz' i think it's fine, lol!) but the way the Toa/Tohunga ov Air (i prefer Tohunga over Matoran) actually say the words, whether as one or two/three word phrases or full sentences! i agree with the "cheerful" thing, but i would add "lively" or "boisterous" or even "sharp" and "witty"! lol i don't know! i always wanted to try and speak tree-speak during conversations with my family or whoever just to confuse them! :P 

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21 hours ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

i would avoid changing the actual words (cuz' i think it's fine, lol!) but the way the Toa/Tohunga ov Air (i prefer Tohunga over Matoran) actually say the words, whether as one or two/three word phrases or full sentences! i agree with the "cheerful" thing, but i would add "lively" or "boisterous" or even "sharp" and "witty"! lol i don't know! i always wanted to try and speak tree-speak during conversations with my family or whoever just to confuse them! :P 

I always pictured Ta-Matoran having much more of an acerbic wit. Le-Matoran would probably be witty, but I think they'd have a more...poetic(?) diction.

M11

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1 minute ago, Matoro11 said:

I always pictured Ta-Matoran having much more of an acerbic wit. Le-Matoran would probably be witty, but I think they'd have a more...poetic(?) diction.

ehh... poetic sounds right, too, i guess! as for Ta-Tohunga (again, i prefer that term instead ov Matoran) i'd say they'd sound "hot-headed" (lol, if that's a thing) or "rustic" or maybe "arrogant" (more ov an insult than anything else! lol)! i don't know! lol 

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2 hours ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

ehh... poetic sounds right, too, i guess! as for Ta-Tohunga (again, i prefer that term instead ov Matoran) i'd say they'd sound "hot-headed" (lol, if that's a thing) or "rustic" or maybe "arrogant" (more ov an insult than anything else! lol)! i don't know! lol 

That works. I feel like they’d probably be kind of harsh. Like a little bit prone to offend people.

M11

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24 minutes ago, Matoro11 said:

That works. I feel like they’d probably be kind of harsh. Like a little bit prone to offend people.

ha ha! yeah! now, in terms ov "dialect" (or the way they talk), for me the Ga-Tohunga would sound "peaceful", "calm", "stable", maybe "shy" sounding (for a few) or for some ov the Ga-Tohunga a little on the "tsundere" (Japanese term, look it up!) side! lol 

oh, and Ko-Tohunga would sound "cold" (pun intended, lol), "low", a bit "attitude-y", maybe a little "arrogant" as well, or even "ticked off" sounding! lol this is actually kinda fun screwing with Tohunga dialect! :P 

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1 hour ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

ha ha! yeah! now, in terms ov "dialect" (or the way they talk), for me the Ga-Tohunga would sound "peaceful", "calm", "stable", maybe "shy" sounding (for a few) or for some ov the Ga-Tohunga a little on the "tsundere" (Japanese term, look it up!) side! lol 

oh, and Ko-Tohunga would sound "cold" (pun intended, lol), "low", a bit "attitude-y", maybe a little "arrogant" as well, or even "ticked off" sounding! lol this is actually kinda fun screwing with Tohunga dialect! :P 

Right?

I think the Ga-Matoran would have an academic air to them. Like a Brahmin, an upper class, educated accent. They use a lot of complex words and say things in very prim-and-proper ways. 

The Po-Matoran would be loud and boisterous like Pohatu in MoL. 
 

Onu-Matoran would be the quiet antisocial ones.

M11

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On 7/30/2020 at 9:13 PM, TheZOMBIEJ said:

(i prefer Tohunga over Matoran)

It's been 19 years, time to accept that they're called Matoran.

Since we're talking more broadly about Matoran accents in general, here's how I'd do it:

Ta: British military

Ga: not sure exactly. Something serene, but that's just falling back on their hyperfeminine characterization that hasn't aged the best. Remember Marka is a Ga-Matoran

Po: Middle Eastern trader

Ko: British intellectual

Le: I actually liked Lewa's leprechaun treespeak in MoL. I'd leave it as is. It's actually quite similar to biblical Hebrew (grammatically loose, implied words) 

Onu: Cockney dock worker

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17 hours ago, Matoro11 said:

Right?

I think the Ga-Matoran would have an academic air to them. Like a Brahmin, an upper class, educated accent. They use a lot of complex words and say things in very prim-and-proper ways. 

The Po-Matoran would be loud and boisterous like Pohatu in MoL. 
 

Onu-Matoran would be the quiet antisocial ones.

well, i still think some Ga-Matoran would have a "tsundere" side to them, or any female character in the MU! Gavla could be a "tsundere", ya never know! lol 

Po-Matoran, for me, would sound "brash", "chill" (lol), maybe a little "drunk" sounding, or even better, they'd sound like a stereotypical "surfer dude", you know with the whole "yeah, dude, what's up, dude, wanna go surfin', dude?", lol! that's just my take on it! :) 

as for the Onu-Matoran, i'd wager their accent would sound along the lines ov "disgruntled", "slurred speech" which is a characteristic ov sounding ""drunk"), a bit "brash" as well, or maybe they'd have a bit ov a "Senegalese" accent as part to how they speak (like St. Louis, Missouri R&B/Hip-Hop musician, Akon)! i don't know! lol 

15 hours ago, Master Inika said:

It's been 19 years, time to accept that they're called Matoran. 

sure, no problem! :) 

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55 minutes ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

well, i still think some Ga-Matoran would have a "tsundere" side to them, or any female character in the MU! Gavla could be a "tsundere", ya never know! lol 

Po-Matoran, for me, would sound "brash", "chill" (lol), maybe a little "drunk" sounding, or even better, they'd sound like a stereotypical "surfer dude", you know with the whole "yeah, dude, what's up, dude, wanna go surfin', dude?", lol! that's just my take on it! :) 

as for the Onu-Matoran, i'd wager their accent would sound along the lines ov "disgruntled", "slurred speech" which is a characteristic ov sounding ""drunk"), a bit "brash" as well, or maybe they'd have a bit ov a "Senegalese" accent as part to how they speak (like St. Louis, Missouri R&B/Hip-Hop musician, Akon)! i don't know! lol 

sure, no problem! :) 

I like the idea of introverted Ga-Matoran. The movies really played up the feminine grace and warmth, but I think that’s a good thing. Leave the spunk and attitude to Lightning or Psionics.

M11

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3 minutes ago, Matoro11 said:

I like the idea of introverted Ga-Matoran. The movies really played up the feminine grace and warmth, but I think that’s a good thing. Leave the spunk and attitude to Lightning or Psionics.

yeah? what do you think ov my ideas ov accents for the Po-Matoran and Onu-Matoran? i the "surfer dude" and "Senegalese" ideas are weird but cool at the same time! :) 

also, for me, the Matoran ov lightning (if there are any) would have a bit ov an "electric", "energetic", "hyper", or even "smart-aleck" side to them! lol 

and psionics would be "deep", "turbulent", "sly", or if there are any female psionics Toa/Matoran, they may have a bit ov a "yandere" (Japanese term, look it up!) side to them, or even "kuudere" (again, Japanese term, look it up!)! i don't know! i might be weird with the three Japanese terms i mentioned (tsundere, yandere, kuudere), but they could be used to describe some (or even many) female characters in the MU! whether it be Toa, Matoran, Turaga, Dark Hunter, Makuta (species), whatever! lol 

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16 minutes ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

yeah? what do you think ov my ideas ov accents for the Po-Matoran and Onu-Matoran? i the "surfer dude" and "Senegalese" ideas are weird but cool at the same time! :) 

also, for me, the Matoran ov lightning (if there are any) would have a bit ov an "electric", "energetic", "hyper", or even "smart-aleck" side to them! lol 

and psionics would be "deep", "turbulent", "sly", or if there are any female psionics Toa/Matoran, they may have a bit ov a "yandere" (Japanese term, look it up!) side to them, or even "kuudere" (again, Japanese term, look it up!)! i don't know! i might be weird with the three Japanese terms i mentioned (tsundere, yandere, kuudere), but they could be used to describe some (or even many) female characters in the MU! whether it be Toa, Matoran, Turaga, Dark Hunter, Makuta (species), whatever! lol 

I like the SoCal surfer accent for Po-Matoran, but I think they’d just be loud. I don’t know about slurred speech. To me it seems like Onu-Matoran would be really quiet. 
 

I like the idea of Lightning Matoran being high-energy. But I think they’d also be volatile, and have a propensity to “crack” or “snap.” 
 

Psionics Matoran would either be calm and good counselors or really strong-willed.

M11

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13 minutes ago, Matoro11 said:

I like the SoCal surfer accent for Po-Matoran, but I think they’d just be loud. I don’t know about slurred speech. To me it seems like Onu-Matoran would be really quiet. 
 

I like the idea of Lightning Matoran being high-energy. But I think they’d also be volatile, and have a propensity to “crack” or “snap.” 
 

Psionics Matoran would either be calm and good counselors or really strong-willed.

makes sense! lol 

how about gravity? i'd wager "unstable", "stutter-y", maybe "panic-y", tendency to "swear/cuss", or perhaps a bit "toxic" in both speech and behavior! you've known some "toxic" people in your life, right? so it would make sense to label Matoran/Toa ov gravity as that as well as the other terms i mentioned! :) 

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1 hour ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

makes sense! lol 

how about gravity? i'd wager "unstable", "stutter-y", maybe "panic-y", tendency to "swear/cuss", or perhaps a bit "toxic" in both speech and behavior! you've known some "toxic" people in your life, right? so it would make sense to label Matoran/Toa ov gravity as that as well as the other terms i mentioned! :) 

Gravity Matoran are totally down-to-earth. Plain-spoken, humble, worldly. They like to keep things simple.

M11

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40 minutes ago, Matoro11 said:

Gravity Matoran are totally down-to-earth. Plain-spoken, humble, worldly. They like to keep things simple.

ah, darn it! oh well! :D 

how about Bo-Matoran? Toa Imrukii has quite a head-canon for these guys, but i say the Bo-Matoran could sound "anxious", "closed-minded", "annoyed", some may even have a "Russian" sounding accent, or even a mix between "Ukrainian" and "Polish" accents! i don't know! lol 

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17 hours ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

ah, darn it! oh well! :D 

how about Bo-Matoran? Toa Imrukii has quite a head-canon for these guys, but i say the Bo-Matoran could sound "anxious", "closed-minded", "annoyed", some may even have a "Russian" sounding accent, or even a mix between "Ukrainian" and "Polish" accents! i don't know! lol 

Naw. I’m kind of a die-hard on the Canadian voice actors. But I’d imagine Bo-Matoran having more of a “backwoods” vibe. Or even something from sub-Saharan Africa. Cameroon/Ethiopia/Nigeria. Bo-Matoran don’t speak. They listen. Like Le-Matoran, only quieter.

M11

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54 minutes ago, Matoro11 said:

Naw. I’m kind of a die-hard on the Canadian voice actors. But I’d imagine Bo-Matoran having more of a “backwoods” vibe. Or even something from sub-Saharan Africa. Cameroon/Ethiopia/Nigeria. Bo-Matoran don’t speak. They listen. Like Le-Matoran, only quieter.

interesting... 

how about Fa-Matoran? let's see; i'd wager them sounding "happy", "cheerful", "Christmas carol-y" (cuz' ov their name "Fa" so it makes sense cuz' "fa la la la laa la laa laa laaaaa", lol), maybe with traces ov "Vietnamese" or "Taiwanese" accenting in their speech! 

ooh, and Fe-Matoran would probably sound "impaired", "down-syndrome-y", borderline "kissing up to the boss" attitude, and let's give them a trace ov "Italian" or "French" accenting in their speech! 

ya agree with any ov this? lol 

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20 hours ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

interesting... 

how about Fa-Matoran? let's see; i'd wager them sounding "happy", "cheerful", "Christmas carol-y" (cuz' ov their name "Fa" so it makes sense cuz' "fa la la la laa la laa laa laaaaa", lol), maybe with traces ov "Vietnamese" or "Taiwanese" accenting in their speech! 

ooh, and Fe-Matoran would probably sound "impaired", "down-syndrome-y", borderline "kissing up to the boss" attitude, and let's give them a trace ov "Italian" or "French" accenting in their speech! 

ya agree with any ov this? lol 

Magnetism Matoran would naturally have a magnetic personality. They’d be very charismatic and well-spoken, but also sympathetic and maybe even a little charming. Since they like to hang out around magnetic poles, they’d probably have New Zealander or even Nordic accents. 
 

Iron Matoran are facetious and gritty. They have a sharp wit and can be seen as the “bad boys” or societal rebels. They often make dirty jokes and can even be disrespectful or aggressive. Since they hang around in mountains and other areas rich in iron, they’d have an Appalachian or Rocky Mountain accent, with a lower-class working man’s accent. They’d all sound like the old prospector, or the blacksmith.

 

(If you’re trying to guess what I’m thinking, look up the tribes on BS01. Think about where they live and what they do, and what are some adjectives you can apply to (element) and people :smilewinkgrin:)

M11

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1 hour ago, Matoro11 said:

Magnetism Matoran would naturally have a magnetic personality. They’d be very charismatic and well-spoken, but also sympathetic and maybe even a little charming. Since they like to hang out around magnetic poles, they’d probably have New Zealander or even Nordic accents. 
 

Iron Matoran are facetious and gritty. They have a sharp wit and can be seen as the “bad boys” or societal rebels. They often make dirty jokes and can even be disrespectful or aggressive. Since they hang around in mountains and other areas rich in iron, they’d have an Appalachian or Rocky Mountain accent, with a lower-class working man’s accent. They’d all sound like the old prospector, or the blacksmith.

 

(If you’re trying to guess what I’m thinking, look up the tribes on BS01. Think about where they live and what they do, and what are some adjectives you can apply to (element) and people :smilewinkgrin:)

well, how about Ca-Matoran? to me they'd sound "fruitful", "disrespectful", partially "disturbing", and let's give them traces ov "Chinese" or "Thai" accenting in their speech! 

Av-Matoran, being Matoran ov light, would sound somewhat "heroic", "political", "well-spoken", and they'd have traces ov "British" or "Australian", as well as a bit ov "Malaysian" to their speech! 

and the Kra-Matoran (oh God, help us!), being Matoran ov shadow, would sound "evil" (ov course), "devilish", "hateful", "demonic", and have traces ov "German", "Austrian", or maybe "Czech" accenting in their speech! 

do these please you, Matoro11? :D 

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Re-watching "Mask of Light", the Irish-tinged accent to Lewa's tree-speak is a little ridiculous. Lewa was a brash, more punk kind of Toa. Whereas Kopaka would be aloof and solitary due to his constantly-working intellect and caution, Lewa often went solo because he assumed he could handle anything that came his way, an impetuous youth who thinks he has figured out the world. For him personally, I would like to hear a bit of disdain or sarcasm in his voice and mannerisms, including treespeak. As for the Le-Matoran population at large, I imagine they would definitely speak with a more carefree, friendly tone. Sort of like "surfer speak", but omitting the terms and slang that tie it to the west coast of the USA.

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5 hours ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

well, how about Ca-Matoran? to me they'd sound "fruitful", "disrespectful", partially "disturbing", and let's give them traces ov "Chinese" or "Thai" accenting in their speech! 

Av-Matoran, being Matoran ov light, would sound somewhat "heroic", "political", "well-spoken", and they'd have traces ov "British" or "Australian", as well as a bit ov "Malaysian" to their speech! 

and the Kra-Matoran (oh God, help us!), being Matoran ov shadow, would sound "evil" (ov course), "devilish", "hateful", "demonic", and have traces ov "German", "Austrian", or maybe "Czech" accenting in their speech! 

do these please you, Matoro11? :D 

Are you talking about Ce-Matoran? I think we covered Ce-Matoran.

I like your interpretation of Av-Matoran, but I think I’d add an air of humility and perhaps a genuine goodness, because they’re about as good as good guys come. They’d probably have something resembling an Anglo-American accent, like they all went to Juilliard.

Kra-Matoran would be slick, but deep-throated, resonant baritones. Some might also have high-pitched, maniacal voices. I like the Germanic accents. 

M11

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4 hours ago, Bionicle Guru said:

Re-watching "Mask of Light", the Irish-tinged accent to Lewa's tree-speak is a little ridiculous. Lewa was a brash, more punk kind of Toa. Whereas Kopaka would be aloof and solitary due to his constantly-working intellect and caution, Lewa often went solo because he assumed he could handle anything that came his way, an impetuous youth who thinks he has figured out the world. For him personally, I would like to hear a bit of disdain or sarcasm in his voice and mannerisms, including treespeak. As for the Le-Matoran population at large, I imagine they would definitely speak with a more carefree, friendly tone. Sort of like "surfer speak", but omitting the terms and slang that tie it to the west coast of the USA.

I think your quarrel is with the personality not with the accent. The Irish can be as brash and acid-tongued as anyone. I know it’s kind of gimmicky, but I love it.

M11

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22 minutes ago, Matoro11 said:

Are you talking about Ce-Matoran? I think we covered Ce-Matoran.

I like your interpretation of Av-Matoran, but I think I’d add an air of humility and perhaps a genuine goodness, because they’re about as good as good guys come. They’d probably have something resembling an Anglo-American accent, like they all went to Juilliard.

Kra-Matoran would be slick, but deep-throated, resonant baritones. Some might also have high-pitched, maniacal voices. I like the Germanic accents. 

well alright, then! :D 

what about Matoran ov The Green? this should be easy; they'd sound "flat", "shaken", "echo-y", "confused", and let's give them traces ov "Ugandan", "Turkish", "Syrian", or even "Indian" (from the country, not "Native American", although that could work, too!) accent in their speech! 

dang, we running out ov Matoran to screw with their dialect/accent! did we miss any? lol 

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1 hour ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

well alright, then! :D 

what about Matoran ov The Green? this should be easy; they'd sound "flat", "shaken", "echo-y", "confused", and let's give them traces ov "Ugandan", "Turkish", "Syrian", or even "Indian" (from the country, not "Native American", although that could work, too!) accent in their speech! 

dang, we running out ov Matoran to screw with their dialect/accent! did we miss any? lol 

We covered Plantlife too. Backwoods. West African. 
 

we didn’t get Sonics.

M11

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On 8/2/2020 at 4:39 PM, TheZOMBIEJ said:

ooh, and Fe-Matoran would probably sound "impaired", "down-syndrome-y", borderline "kissing up to the boss" attitude, and let's give them a trace ov "Italian" or "French" accenting in their speech! 

While I'm all for fans expanding Matoran society, I'm sorry, but I don't think this one is in good taste. I think the last thing the Matoran Universe needs is arbitrary stereotypes assigned according to color of armor. Yes, I do think Matoran can suffer from 'impairment', but assigning it as a racial trait can't lead anywhere good. 

That being said, I do think the collective personality traits found in each elemental grouping would indeed have a significant impact on how the group of Matoran end up speaking, many of which you all touched upon in previous discussion. I think this gets at a good overall world building question of how language and society can potentially play off of one another. I like to think treespeak reflects the quick but not always focused with of the Le-populace. 

I enjoyed the more freestyle-like treespeak we saw on Mata Nui (Hapaka books). "Mystery-king of know-nothingness" is a phrase thats' stuck with me. I feel like we see more concise, perhaps more formulaic terms when we move to Metru Nui/Greg, like "ever-" or "quick-" used as common emphatic prefixes. Then again, that seems to fit with the environment - treespeak is a wilder dialect that combines a wider range of terms for a more wild environment, and chutespeak is more structured, like a city. Then again, it's been a while since I've read the books, and I'm happy to accept counter-examples. To answer the original question, I would expand on the difference between chutespeak and treespeak. 

Another question: Metru Nui didn't always have chutes. Any idea what Chutespeak was called before that? Or did it come about only after the invention of chutes? 

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13 minutes ago, Aderia said:

I enjoyed the more freestyle-like treespeak we saw on Mata Nui (Hapaka books). "Mystery-king of know-nothingness" is a phrase thats' stuck with me. I feel like we see more concise, perhaps more formulaic terms when we move to Metru Nui/Greg, like "ever-" or "quick-" used as common emphatic prefixes. Then again, that seems to fit with the environment - treespeak is a wilder dialect that combines a wider range of terms for a more wild environment, and chutespeak is more structured, like a city. Then again, it's been a while since I've read the books, and I'm happy to accept counter-examples. To answer the original question, I would expand on the difference between chutespeak and treespeak. 

Another question: Metru Nui didn't always have chutes. Any idea what Chutespeak was called before that? Or did it come about only after the invention of chutes? 

That’s why I like the Irish brogue, especially for treespeak. The randomness of the dialect, the stuntedness of the grammar, it needs something that the normal, articulate diction of a Canadian-American voice can’t capture. The wispy, breathy, rolling semi-Irish accent they used for Lewa in MoL seems like a perfect fit. It adds a kind of charm to it. It’s kind of goofy, but also really endearing, like a cool forest breeze. 
 

It was probably either called something offensive like “greenspeak” or really dumb like “the way they talk in Le-Metru.”

M11

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5 hours ago, Aderia said:

While I'm all for fans expanding Matoran society, I'm sorry, but I don't think this one is in good taste. I think the last thing the Matoran Universe needs is arbitrary stereotypes assigned according to color of armor. Yes, I do think Matoran can suffer from 'impairment', but assigning it as a racial trait can't lead anywhere good. 

i understand. and i guess i'm done replying to this topic cuz' i honestly have nothing else to add! thanks for your reply and keep making cool comics like the Bionicle/Star Wars one! :) 

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12 hours ago, TheZOMBIEJ said:

and keep making cool comics like the Bionicle/Star Wars one! :) 

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.

17 hours ago, Matoro11 said:

It was probably either called something offensive like “greenspeak” or really dumb like “the way they talk in Le-Metru.”

I do like the term 'greenspeak', and see nothing wrong with it. The only thing is, I don't know where that leaves Matoran of the Green here. And I don't want you to feel I'm enforcing a hyper-politically-correct agenda in your topic. I simply felt there was one instance where the line was crossed and didn't want to let it slide. 
 

 

Moving on: I did a small project on a rainy day for you, also to prove I'm not just here to shoot down ideas  (haha, it's also plenty fascinating on its own).

Here's data from the first two books (roughly, includes some comic stuff) from each author - Hapaka and Farshtey, because I was interested in the chutespeak/treespeak differential. 

OverallTableSummary.png.f88daca08e53060fe4defab88c4ef78b.png

 

By functional category:
(that is, it functions as adjective, or noun, or verb)

image.png.5d10ce703864b6701ec7da30d0489e09.png

 

Thanks to the Biological Chronicle project that made compiling this data much easier than actually skimming the books chapter by chapter. Hapaka data is from PDF file Infection, and Farshtey data is from PDF file Legends

This is a collation of how examples of tree/chutespeak combines word classes of adjective, noun, and verb. 

General notes:

  • Farshtey consistently uses hyphens for chutespeak, with one exception which is noted. 
  • Hapaka's use of hyphens is a bit more sporadic. 
  • This data counts individual chute/treespeak terms, and does not account for the same term being used more than once. Overall, Hapaka uses more individual terms and uses them more frequently (goes along with Farshtey's well-known dislike of chutespeak).
  • Generally, the second word class in the name is the function the chute/treespeak phrase takes in the sentence. Example, AdjectiveNouns (AdjN) are nouns, NounVerbs (NVs) are verbs, etc. 
  • I had fun pie charts at one point but formatting was too much, and for brevity's sake, I didn't have a concise way to visually combine all the different comparisons I wanted to make. If anyone wants to see the original spreadsheets, here's a dropbox link to the file. Let me know if it doesn't work, sometimes dropbox trips me up. 
  • Percentages don't add up exactly because ambiguity of classifications. 

 

 

Adjective Class breakdown

Terms used as adjectives. This was the largest category, with individual entries listed for people to look over. 

It should be noted that there is usually a degree of ambiguity when dealing with word classes, so the word class was based on context of the utterance as much as possible. Generally what I found (and is totally up for debate) is that when two nouns (NNs) are combined into a term, the first noun modifies the second, primary noun, so the first noun essentially becomes an adjective, which is why so many NNs are listed as AdjNs. 

Couldn't find any VerbAdjectives, and I'd be thrilled if one was found or proven.

AdjectiveAdjectives are what I tend to think of when I think of tree/chutespeak. Generally, Greg seems to use these as intensifiers, "ever-strange', 'quick-fast', and Hapaka uses the combinations to expand the scope of the term. 

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Noun Class breakdown

Terms used as nouns, essentially. AdjNs are the largest category overall. VerbNouns, I only found one for each author, and Farshtey's was kind of a stretch, at that.

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Note: the term 'fire-spitter' was used much more frequently by Onewa. 


A lot of these could also be debatable, especially because the context isn't included. "trouble-danger', 'worry-fear' could easily be Adj or V in some regard, etc. Perhaps that's part of the ...charm of the dialect. 

 

Verb Class breakdown

AdjectiveVerb category is where the two authors were more or less even.  VerbVerbs were the most common, and essentially compound verbs, or redundantredundant. Greg also used more of a variety of verb tenses when combining verbs. 

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*correction, I don't think 'wayfinder' should be in this data, but it was too late to change all the tables. 
 

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Miscellaneous

This was a small category, employed only by Hapaka, but it opens up a whole ton of possibilities. 
Not actually sure how to categorize 'sneak-swoop-smash', but I love it.

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Not sure about others, but I'd love more complex combinations like the ones Tamaru uses (directly above), but that opens the door to either a lot more confusion, or the need for a lot of underlying rules on how to order segments and such, which I think gets away from the spirit of the dialect a bit. 

One thing I would restrict (not sure how) is how verb tenses are combined, because that can get pretty technical and clunky-sounding. As it stands, I don't love phrases in congruent present tense, like "thinks-knows". For some reason, "think-knows" sounds better and I'm pretty sure it conveys the same message. 

 

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(disclaimer: none of this banner art is original, I just smooshed it together in gimp. Torchic, Matau)
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Those pesky firespitters... 
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I think the Le-Matoran get a bad rap because they are the only group that, for a couple years, we only READ what they said and could not LISTEN to how they spoke.

Between the comics & books, MNOG, and the promo animations there was no voice acting or spoken words. Everything was in word bubbles, subtitles, or a VO narrator. Even the GBA game had garbled dialog ("eepa wappa appa wah!"). So when the Miramax movies came along it was kind of a shock to me how they handled Lewa and Matau. Had the LOMN game been released in 2001 as it was planned, we would have heard the garbled techno-elemental hybrid of the Toa and their people and probably would have thought much differently on their portrayals in later media.

Because the Turaga and Matoran have been stuck on Mata Nui for a long long time, their past is forgotten and they have secluded to their own regions and developed unique personalities and trope practices over the years. If they had all lived in one place like Metru Nui, working together and mingling, I don't think their accents and practices would have differed as drastically; so no chute-speak in my book.

The most secluded tribes are Le-Koro and Ko-Koro. You have to go looking to find them. Once you have, you have to go through hoops to understand them. While the Le-Matoran sing and rhyme and have a colorful dailect, the Ko-Matoran speak very little or not at all. Even the Turaga reflect this practice, as Matau is a singer of stories and Nuju has Matoro translate his words for him. Their unique languages, or lack thereof, is because of this isolation.


With that in mind, Lewa should never have spoken tree-speak. Adopted phrases, maybe, but no broken language. He woke up from a canister like the other Toa, and has not been secluded in the jungle for a thousand years. He can still be jovial like Matau and the jungle birds, just as Kopaka is cold and aloof like his region.

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17 hours ago, chuckschwa said:

I think the Le-Matoran get a bad rap because they are the only group that, for a couple years, we only READ what they said and could not LISTEN to how they spoke.

Between the comics & books, MNOG, and the promo animations there was no voice acting or spoken words. Everything was in word bubbles, subtitles, or a VO narrator. Even the GBA game had garbled dialog ("eepa wappa appa wah!"). So when the Miramax movies came along it was kind of a shock to me how they handled Lewa and Matau. Had the LOMN game been released in 2001 as it was planned, we would have heard the garbled techno-elemental hybrid of the Toa and their people and probably would have thought much differently on their portrayals in later media.

Because the Turaga and Matoran have been stuck on Mata Nui for a long long time, their past is forgotten and they have secluded to their own regions and developed unique personalities and trope practices over the years. If they had all lived in one place like Metru Nui, working together and mingling, I don't think their accents and practices would have differed as drastically; so no chute-speak in my book.

The most secluded tribes are Le-Koro and Ko-Koro. You have to go looking to find them. Once you have, you have to go through hoops to understand them. While the Le-Matoran sing and rhyme and have a colorful dailect, the Ko-Matoran speak very little or not at all. Even the Turaga reflect this practice, as Matau is a singer of stories and Nuju has Matoro translate his words for him. Their unique languages, or lack thereof, is because of this isolation.


With that in mind, Lewa should never have spoken tree-speak. Adopted phrases, maybe, but no broken language. He woke up from a canister like the other Toa, and has not been secluded in the jungle for a thousand years. He can still be jovial like Matau and the jungle birds, just as Kopaka is cold and aloof like his region.

MoL might have unintentionally got it right then because Lewa didn’t really follow the grammar structure of treespeak (neither did Matau)

M11

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