Mando'a class (Mandalorian language)

As many of you know, I've developed Mando'a into a working language for the Republic Commando books. So I thought I'd kick off a thread solely for Mando linguistics issues to avoid clogging up the excellent Official Mandalorian Reference Guide thread with arcane debates about standalone prefixes and agglutination. (And a lot of other threads. Mhi Mando'ade are fairly invasive by our very nature...)

I'm still working out with the powers that be how the language toolkit is going to be put in the public domain, but until that's sorted, I can at least deal with linguistics issues arising from what's already published.

 

Sweet, Karen, I'll be a student.
*sits at desk*

 

Hmm, seems interesting..
I have always wondered the correct english translation of Di´kut..

 

Moron, pillock or d***-head. It can also be used in a friendly fashion but only with people you know very, very well.

 

With that kind of translation, I wouldn't be surprised. I can't use it like that because none of my best friends like Sttar Wars as much as I do.

 

It's akin to one of my buddies who always says, "Hello Traviss, you old trollop." It's affectionate coming from a friend. But enough to start a fight coming from anyone else.

 

Great.

A Mando'a thread

And um, what about listing the words we know so far?

tracyn = fire

tracinya = flame

Di'kut - worthless foolish person, ****-head, pillock, "******". (There. I said it.)

Di'kutla - adjective; foolish, useless, etc. General expletive as we might use...umm....the f-word adjective.

Di'kute - plural form, "******".

chakaar (plural: chakaar'e) = scumbag, scally


Maybe Karen coould add some new (confirmed) words

I guess ky'ram means death...

 

Agreed.
Okay, I have a rather silly question: How do you say "I have to use the bathroom" in Mando'a?

 

I am in!

well, if it doesn´t end like the Fett Club from Tales *lol*

 

More Mando words we know
Bal: and
Kote: Glory
Darasuum: eternal

 

And, I'm writing a fanfic about the new Mandalorian Protectors (no link, and please don't ignore me, Karen) and I want to name the ship of my main char Striking Flame in Mando'a. So, flame is Tracinya, but what is "striking"? Could you please help me, Karen?

and

vod (plural: vode)= brother

 

Here's the situation so far. I have a 500-plus word dictionary and a grammatical guide. But I shouldn't be posting any detail from that until it's been cleared by LFL.

What I'm aiming at is to make the material available in some format or other (remember that it has to be something that I can update) so that fans have a toolkit to use for themselves. That's mainly because it's fun, but also because I won't have time to translate stuff for people. I can, though, referee on lingusistics stuff, i.e. what's correct and what isn't.

 

Okay, my apologies for the question.

 

Ok, that's good as well.

Maybe you could check if these lil Mando'a "fan-dictionaries" made out of the RepCom-lyrics are correct? (well, they aren't, but just tell us the proper things)

 

This raises a couple of issues. I won't be able to provide instant translations for folks, because I could probably spend all my time doing that and not writing books. The vocabulary - when it's made public - will answer most of those questions. So I'll have to pass on this for the time being. Sorry.

 

*comes in, sits quietly at the back, and debates whether to offer to buy any Fett Club-style corpses for rendering and export*

What's Mando'a for glue?

 

Well, I understand that and respect it. It wouldn't be madeable when everyone asks you hundreds of such questions and I can wait

thx anyway.

Remember Rule 7: No Gungans. Ever.

 

I'm going to find the original list for what we already have and post those.

 

Huzzah!!

 

Good point, Sinrebirth. I found the grammar to be quite simple and easy to learn. Once I understood the basic principles upon which Mando'a is built, I could form my own sentences, express thoughts, even write verse. Not only that, but on a deeper level, understanding the particular grammar of Mando'a was a window to the Mando soul. How a culture speaks is a reflection of how it thinks, what it feels and what it believes in.


I don't know how much Karen can release, before LFL has cleared it.

 

Okay, this is the basic list that derives from the RepCom lyrics. A warning: this is not modern Mandalorian, so there are differences in spelling and pronunciation (like Ts and Ds, aspirate Hs). Yes, I know there are gaps, but as those are the ones I've filled in, they form part of the stuff I have to have approved so I'm not including them at this stage.

A?den = wrath, rage
Adenn = merciless
Adu = sons (archaic form)
Ad = son
An = all
Aruetyc = traitorous
Ast = itself

Bal = and
Broka = to beat

Coruscanta = Coruscant


Darasuum = eternal
Duum = allow

Jetiise = the republic/the Jedi
Jorso?ran = shall bear
Juaan = beside

Ka?ra = stars
Ka?rta = heart
Kad = saber
Kandosii = indomitable, noble, ruthless
Kom?rk = gauntlet
Kote = glory, might
Kyr?am = death

Mhi = we
Motir = to stand

Nau = before


Prudii = shadow (singular)
Prudiise = shadows (plural)

Racin = pale
Rang = ash
Runi = soul

Sa = as, like
Solus = each, individual, alone

Taungsarang = The ash of the Taung, the first conquerors of Coruscant
Te = the
Teroch = pitiless
Tome = together
Tor = justice
Tracinya = flame
Tracyn = fire
Trattok?o = fall, fail
Troan = face
Ures = without

Vod = brother (singular)
Vode = brothers

 

McEwok, I'll get Q_M to throw you out if you don't show more respect for the dominant culture here...

 

from Karen's blog a few weeks back, i asked what "Jawa" was in Mando'a... it's "jawa"