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OH MY GOD

Becca never change your avatar.

...and your phone is set to shuffle and Hahli Husky and Janus Janus read a Bionicle comic in front of your co-workers, and you are too busy to hit the "next song" button... AND THE TURN PAGE SOUND IS WHAT I ASSUME TO BE A GOAT. Yeah, that is a thing that happened. Whassat, Billy? You keep your music on devices the size of a cracker? ...GET OFF MY LAWN! ~ Tekulo <3

I really need to learn to avoid any and all discussions of Lego part quality. The amount of misinformation in them tends to make my blood boil. Like the idea that the plastic formulation in Bionicle parts ever changed across its ten-year lifespan (excepting the introduction of new materials like the rubbery plastic tubing of 2007 onward), or the notion that Chinese production is inherently inferior (and cannot be made better or more reliable). I just read an interesting article about Lego setting a target date for transitioning off of ABS as its primary material, which is a considerable challenge but an admirable one in terms of sustainability and a fascinating notion as it relates to materials science. Yet I'm already dreading the furor that is sure to erupt in Lego communities regarding this news, which is sure to only get worse with each passing year.

tekulo I just

glad to see that i'm not the only one who hates Diddy Kong with a passion

OK it isn't really. And yet...I mean just LISTEN. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SLOGs9ttiE I have feelings about Stickerbrush Symphony. And David Wise is a musigician.

Didn't even cross my kind. I am ashamed. :[

So, I have gotten to the part of my retelling where Makuta takes over, and I "discovered" (having apparently never consciously noticed) that officially, he nicknames the MU the "Makutaverse" at that time. I like the idea of him naming it after himself, but Makutaverse sounds hopelessly silly. For one thing, it's a fusion of both English and Matoran. I got to thinking, though -- what if I come up with a Matoran word for "universe", and mix THAT with Makuta? Looking into the Maori, I found a word for realm that is similar to (my shortened version here) Taia. Makutaia sounds cool, and even evokes his old lair, the Mangaia. Also, Taia is WAY more concise than "Matoran Universe" and also avoids the acronym which looks like a cow is yelling. Taia. Or, longer version, Matoran Taia. Likey no likey?

Wait... she insulted his height... but he destroyed a functioning part of her body... And SHE is giving HIM a valentine? ... Game stories are weird. Cool artwork, though

Didn't even cross my kind. I am ashamed. :[ It is okay, a derp on something involving Derpy is the most forgivable of all derps.

Already did, in video form. Along with the Twilight we made with one of the first snows back in December.

Typo alert! The entry for "trei" says "guidng" together.

gpoy

Some people don't take toys seriously. It's like visiting a gatage sale. Ultimately, they just want more room in their home and less things that they do not need.

I just wanted to say that your language construction and translation is seriously one of the best things ever to happen to the BIONICLE fandom. Keep it up.

We're just so modern.

*pulls out vicious-looking knife* "Well, it would actually help if I had the correct blade..." That just made my day.

If I have a choice of coming up with a new Matoran word that fits with canon, where would I rather derive it from? Two choices: (a) break the fourth wall and take it from a human language, or (b) fabricate it from already established canon material. As someone who cares about the internal consistency of the canon (and I'm sure you do too), I'd go with (b). Maybe that is subjective personal choice. As you say, I don't think we're really conflicting that much here. If I could come up with a Matoran etymology for Taia, I'd probably be okay with it, although my intuition says that there might be a better option...Either way. carry on. That doesn't really matter. You might have thought it was overcorrection. I don't care if it was. The result was that we had a set of okay Maori words to use--and we still do, so...Minor point though. I'm probably missing context here. Is this a thing now? Feel free to just say "yes" and leave it, since I'm not up on forum activity these days. =P Either way, the Latin comparison is a non-sequitor, although there probably is a legit example out there for you to use. LEGO went for Latin in the Bara Magna years because it's potentially easier to clear legally and it's not likely to offend anyone since it's a "dead" language (and Roman culture is similarly absent). yadda yadda

But again, the original canon did indeed draw inspiration from Maori primarily, so if we want to be consistent, it makes sense to continue to look at the Maori for ideas. Anyways, you may be overthinking what I'm asking here; like I said, if you don't want to consider it Maori-related, keep in mind I was already looking for something possibly starting with "Ta" because of what's already canon, (which incidentally also fits with "Mata"), and "ia" as a suffix is also already canon, as is "aia". Right? What I'm asking is more if people like the sound of it. Even if we accept that premise, which I don't (Bionicle has continued to use inspiration from real-world languages; Maori is just as valid a source as any other), I'm really not seeing the problem here, since every part of this word is already well evidenced from existing canon, which sounds like what you're arguing for... so...? Wuzzada problem? In any case, it has always been agreed on BZPower that while LEGO can choose not to draw inspiration from Maori due to raw emotions and the like in the "Tohunga Incident", that it remains appropriate for fans to continue to use that word or Maori inspiration. But if your tastes are such so as not to agree, that's fine. I'm just saying, it sounds like the standard you're putting forward here is a great fit to this, since every part makes etymological sense from pre-existing canon. While it's true that I didn't think of "taia" before seeing the Maori, I still instantly realized how it fits perfectly (IMO?) with established canon. (That happens a lot when you look at the Maori, which is one reason I keep checking it. ) [Note: I opted not to include "Tohunga" in my retelling, FTR, but more out of a goal to keep things simple for space considerations than anything else. In my Paracosmos I do use it roughly how it was in the "original canon", with the later change back to Matoran symbolizing their re-embracing of unity. Anyways, my point is that I do not at all accept the premise that the self-imposed rules LEGO opted for in the canon are in any way also applicable to fanfics. LEGO was wise to impose those rules, but it's a profit-making toy company, and we're just writing fan fiction, which can be more free to be higher quality. The argument is also self-refuting, since it is saying we should model LEGO's behavior. But many of recognize that LEGO had a good idea in drawing inspiration from a great language, which has only increased our understanding of a different culture by inspiring ongoing research. Since LEGO did that too, then patterning our actions on LEGO means that's also a valid route to take. Since your own argument accepts that words used prior to a certain date are valid, there's no magical reason that date prevents the same validity from extending into the future. Those of us who resonate deeply with that style don't have the option of hopping in a time machine. Some things are just timeless.] Based on this sentence, I suspect the issue is you are subjectively (perhaps erroneously?? but it might be a taste thing) seeing drawing inspiration from real-world languages as a lower standard. But IMO it's clearly the other way around, although there's nothing particularly wrong with randomness either. Especially for Bionicle, because it was started that way, and consistency is important. LEGO's later avoidance of anything* Maori came across to a lot of people as overcorrection, a lowering of quality, albeit done with good intentions. *Not sure, but I think some of the Mata Nui map names that were later assigned "original" meanings were from Maori or similar languages. As for "appropriation", let's not rehash the whole "problem with Ninjago" thing here. I just want to know if people like the sound of this, and if they don't like the Maori inspiration, just look at the in-story reasons it fits with no need to reference the Maori word. It draws just as much on the existing word "Makuta", and "ia". (Is it appropriation if it comes from Latin? Nobody seems to think so, so that argument seems inconsistent to me, and even the vast majority of English is borrowed from other languages anyways.) Incidentally, I also liked Taiao because of its similarity to Chinese Tao; "Way", although that isn't so relevant etymologically, but also Taia for its similarity to Gaia -- so there's LOTS of inspiration from different cultures going on here, Maori just being one. Edit: Here's another possibility -- Mataia. Literally, just add "ia" to "Mata" (as in Mata Nui). Taia could simpy be a shortened form of that, or even the second-half being "translated" as "-verse". "Ia" clearly already means "place" in Matoran, and "Mata" means Spirit, also with connotations from Matoran. And then there's the fact that the element prefix for Fire, which is commonly traditional for leaders, is Ta. Just so many ways to come at it! (I do think I prefer Taia over Mataia, but yeah.)

Interesting...but why use straight, unfiltered Maori for this? Matoran isn't Maori. Unless this is meant to be just an abbreviation of convenience (i.e., not a plausible piece of Bionicle lore), in which case, no real opinion, I guess. I'd rather have something Matoran. =P

You people have brought many a smile to my face the past few days. After the time invested in the Matoran Dictionary project over the last several years, the sudden boost in exposure and overall positive response—both on BZP (thx news!) and off—means a lot. I’m glad to see so many people delving into it and having fun. In the end, that was the impetus for this project: my own personal enjoyment and enjoyment for other members of the Bionicle fandom. It’s all very satisfying. Heartfelt thanks. JRRT

One just wonders if publishing this would be allowed. Copyrights and all. If it could it would be really cool. SOOO, did you ever ask your board if this could count towards that doctorate? =P I mean, it at least demonstrates your particular brand of devotion to linguistics in a unique and fun way. Not that I know how the process works but... XD

On Kakaru's response blog, he said that he'd love to have an actual print copy... and there's quite a few people that agreed. I may actually be able to make this happen, if that's okay with you. We could get a Kickstarter going and have prints of this. Which I think would be beyond fantastic, and it looks like there's plenty of people here who would be into it. Other than what you've written up, we can arrange something with a few high-end Bionicle fanartists and really make this thing look great. What would you say to going ahead with this? Given it's your hard work more than anything, I really would like you to be at the heart of designing this, if it happens. I have the connections and know-how for printing, so don't worry about that aspect What do you think?

You're insane, yo. The sheer amount of work you put into this project, without any sort of monetary payout, is astounding, not to go into how EVERYTHING FITS. Hats off to you, man.

I have enjoyed your recent entries, and I hope I can make the time to read those that I haven't yet. I have no grounding in linguistics however so I usually have nothing to add to the conversation, except that it saddens me that great work like this often goes noticed but not praised. I think you have done a great job, and much of my Bionicle headcanon is based off of entries and posts like these.

I'm not manly enough for this MANsplosion of TESTOSTERONE.