Languages - Matoran Vs. Agori?

[bleedingshadows94]

I didn't see this topic anywhere else, and I thought it was a good question:So, the Matoran language is a programming language, like 0's and 1's. But I do have a few questions: first, whenever a weird word (I'll use "Vezon" as an example) is brought up, the story will quickly describe it, saying something along the lines of "vezon is the Matoran word for 'double'." The question is: are beings in the MU always speaking Matoran (with the exclusion of the Skakdi's native tongue)? Seeing as the characters tend to point out specific words, such as "inika", "vezon", etc., is the story just clarifying what the words mean? If this is true, then when a character, such as a Piraka, saw a word and the story said "if [redacted] recalled correctly, [redacted x] was the Matoran word for [redacted y]". Sorry if this is confusing.But this also brings me to my next question: if the MU beings are always speaking Matoran, how did they communicate with the Glatorian/Agori on Bara Magna, who would, theoretically, speak Agori? When Lewa was transported to Bota Magna, he encountered several Agori and was unable to communicate with them, so their language is obviously different. But Tahu and the others were able to communicate with Gresh and friends just fine. Why is this?~Tobi

[Toa Smoke Monster]

To answer your second question, Lewa (and several other MU beings like Axonn, Brutaka, etc.) were inside a fortress when Mata Mui gave all the MU residents the ability to communicate with the Agori and Glatorian. The walls of the fortress prevented Lewa and co. from being affected by Mata Nui's powers, so they weren't given the ability to understand the Agori and Glatorian. I believe these events are found in the Reign of Shadows serial if you want to read up on it. (I could be wrong about that , though. I haven't read any of the Bionicle serials in a while. )To your first question, beings clarifying some of the words in the Matoran language is probably for the readers benefit. The reader probably wouldn't know that 'vezon' was the Matoran word for 'double' if it wasn't said in the story somehow, just to set an example.

[BioGio]

First of all, programming languages aren't typically ones and zeroes, but that's not really important here.Anyway, any character who speaks Matoran (e.g., Toa, Makuta, etc.) does so constantly, yes. The use of translations like "Inika--lightning from a star" are simply additions within the out-of-universe books to clarify for the audience. In other words, Jaller never spelled out what he meant by "Inika" in-universe, but the "translation" into English (hypothetically, the books are "translated" from Matoran) does in order to allow the audience to learn important words that we would otherwise not know.I am rather confused by your sentence involving "redacted x/y," but I take it to mean that you're asking if some of the words that are translated for us are actually translated in the characters' minds. If that's what you mean, then, yes, it happens occasionally with a Skakdi or something mentally reminding himself or others of the meaning of a foreign language (Matoran), just as you or I might think "Spanish 'siesta' is 'nap' in English."The Smoke Monster explained the answer to the second question pretty well. Of course, a character in the fortress could learn to speak and read Agori (presumably); they just have yet to do so.~ BioGio

[Black Six]

Question answered.Thread closed.