Questions and Negation
Na'vi 1
Course 1 · Chapter 8 · Questions and Negation
With Chapter 7 you can make statements. This chapter lets you ask, refuse and answer: yes/no questions, the family of question words that all begin or end in pe, the negator ke, and the two short answers from Chapter 1, srane and kehe.
Yes/No Questions: srak(e)
The marker means roughly "whether". It can go at the beginning or end of the clause. It is srake when something follows it and srak when it ends the clause. Speakers sometimes drop it and let their voice rise.
The question needs no special word order and no auxiliary verb. English "do you…?" and "are you…?" have no counterpart.
Question Words: the pe- Family
Each question word is built around pe ("which"). It can come before the noun it asks about or after it, and each has two shapes, for example pesu or tupe "who?".
| Asks about | Form | Alternative shape |
|---|---|---|
| who? | pesu | tupe |
| what? (a thing) | peu | 'upe |
| what? (an action) | pehem | kempe |
| why? | pelun | lumpe |
| where? | peseng | tsengpe |
| when? | pehrr | krrpe |
| how? | pefya | fyape |
| what kind of? | pefnel | fnepe |
The pattern is the same for all: the question word takes the place of the thing you do not know. Pelì'u asks about a word, so the question above is about something that was said.
Saying "Not": ke
Negation, of a noun phrase or a clause, is made with the particle ke, placed before the part it negates. Na'vi allows double negatives, so a negative sentence can carry more than one ke.
Short Answers: srane and kehe
Srane is "yes" and kehe is "no", used on their own to answer a yes/no question. The answer follows the truth of the statement, not its wording, which matters for negative questions: the question Nga ke lu Txewì srak? asks whether "you are not a Txewi" is true, so srane confirms the negative statement and kehe denies it.
A question tag asks for agreement: ke fìfya srak? "(is it) not this way?" in its long form, with shortened versions heard too.
- "You must use srak in every question." A question word or a rising voice can be enough.
- "Question words come first, as in English." They can stand before or after the noun.
- "Double negatives cancel out." In Na'vi they stack and stay negative.
Hands-On Exercises
Explain how Ngaru lu fpom srak? is built, word by word, then give a short answer meaning "yes" and a short answer meaning "no". Say why Na'vi needs no word for "do" or "are" in the question.
📄 View solutionMatch each English question to its Na'vi question word: who, why, where, when, how, what are you doing. Then say what Oeru pelun? and Kempe si nga? mean.
📄 View solutionA friend asks Nga ke lu Txewì srak?. Explain what is being asked, and which of srane or kehe you would answer if you are not a Txewi. Say how this differs from English.
📄 View solutionChapter 8 Quick Reference
- Yes/no question: add srake (clause start or middle) or srak (clause end); rising voice can replace it
- Question words: pesu, peu, pehem, pelun, peseng, pehrr, pefya, pefnel (or the -pe shapes)
- Negation: ke before the thing denied; double negatives stack; ke'u nothing, fuke or not
- Answers: srane yes, kehe no, following the truth of the statement
- "Whether…or not": ftxey … fuke