Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Discussion of existing grammar and words, pronunciation, and compounding new words.
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Cuyan Atinii
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Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by Cuyan Atinii » 30 Jan 2011 03:35

Click one of these links to be sent to it.
Lesson 1 - Lesson 2 - Lesson 3 -

This lesson has also been translated into German.
Lektion 1 -

This thread also has a sister discussion thread.
Discussion Thread

So this is Lesson 1: Basics

After getting your dictionary dictionary and quick grammar guide quick grammar guide from here here, it’s time to start learning to use Mando’a.

First, read the Mando’a Quick Grammar Guide to understand the basic foundation of this language.
Now then, let’s start –

Speaking the Language –

Most of the pronunciation is covered in the Mando’a Quick Grammar Guide.
What I add here is simply what I consider more accurate based on actual Mando’a dictionary pronunciations.
  • E – sometimes pronounced “eh” in the middle of a word
    O – sometimes “aw”
    C – usually pronounced “s”, but is pronounced “k” when before “a”, “o”, or “u”
Sentence Structure -

First, look at these sentences,
  • “Nobody cares who your father was, only the father you’ll be.”
    “Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori wadaas’la.”
    The word-for-word translation is, “Your bloodline not important; you as father, very valuable.”
    And,
    “Mando’ad draar digu.”
    “A Mandalorian never forgets.”
While not strictly defined, Mando’a sentence structure appears to generally be setup very similar to Basic. At the same time, the most important part of written or spoken Mando’a is clarity, so your word order should convey meaning to the reader or listener, even if it doesn’t fit this structure.


Hopefully more soon.

Admin's note: I edited this post to point the above links at their archived copies on Archive.Org
Last edited by Adi'karta on 05 Jan 2016 22:26, edited 9 times in total.
Reason: Made it better
Ibic cuyi haan Yusta.

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Cuyan Atinii
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Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help. Lesson 2

Unread post by Cuyan Atinii » 04 Feb 2011 03:29

Lesson 2: More Basics

The Beten -

The beten is the word for the apostrophe used in Mando’a. A beten is sometimes used to indicate a slight glottal stop, or in some cases can also indicate pronunciation, breathing, or dropped letters.

The beten is also often used to link a prefix or suffix to the main word:
e.g. Nu'briikase (un-happy), Ori’dush (very-bad)
The beten can also connect words, as explained below.


Compound Words -

What are 'compound words'? Two (or more) Mando'a words, usually connected by a beten. Compound words, in this sense, create words with new, more precise meanings.

Examples of Mando'a compound words from KT's dictionary -
Jetii'kad - lightsaber (jedi-sword)
Epar'yaim - restaurant (eat-home)
Kar'taylir - to Know, hold in heart (heart-hold)

('Compound word' is my own term. If you have a better/more official name, please tell me.)


Memorization -

Yes! To learn Mando'a, you're going to need to actually know the words it's made up of!
To start off, here's five pronouns -
  • I, me - Ni
    My, mine - Ner
    You, your - Gar
    He, him, his - Kaysh (also She, her, hers)
    They, their - Val
---
Thats it for now. Please: comments, questions, critiques, etc.
Ibic cuyi haan Yusta.

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Cuyan Atinii
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Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help. Lesson 3

Unread post by Cuyan Atinii » 26 Jan 2012 04:50

Lesson 3: Basic Word List

Before I write anything else, I'm going to give a short explination.
Mando'a is essentially either a very simple language or an extremely complicated code. It just depends on how you treat it. It has identical rules to that of Basic except where outlined above, and probably won't be getting any very soon. So, the best way to learn Mando'a after you've got an understanding of what I've written in the last two lessons is to start using it.

I personally write my journal in Mando'a (my thoughts are safer than if locked up). I encourage you to do something. Read existing Mando'a text. Translate something. Write a book, poem, or song. Teach your friends. Whatever. By simply using it you will begin learning it.

That out of the way, here are the most commonly used Mando'a words. They're a great foundation to build your vocabulary on.
  • 1 the – te, haar (rarely used)
    2 be – cuyir
    3 to – bah, at
    4 of - be
    5 and - bal
    6 a, an – eyn (raraly used)
    7 in – o’r
    8 that - ibac
    9 have - ganar
    10 I, me - ni
    11 it - bic
    12 for - par
    13 not - nu
    14 on - bat
    15 with - ti
    16 he, him, his - kaysh
    17 as - sa
    18 you, your - gar
    19 do - vaabir
    21 this - ibic
    22 but – a, a’, al
    24 by - de
    25 from - teh
    26 they, their, theirs - val
    27 we, us - mhi
    28 say - sirbur
    30 she, her, hers - kaysh
    31 or - ra
    33 will – ven’cuy
    34 my, mine - ner
    35 one - solus
    36 all - an
    38 there - ogir
    38 which, what, that, who – meg (megin before vowel)
    41 so - bid
    42 up - laam
    43 out - dayn
    44 if - meh
    46 who – tion’ad
    49 go - slanar
    51 when – tion’tuur
    52 make, create – gotal’ur
    53 able to, can - liser
    54 like - guuror
    55 time – ca’nara
    56 no - nayc
    57 just, only - shi
    59 know, hold in heart – kar’taylir
    60 take - hiibir
    61 people - adate
    62 into - lo
    63 year - simir
    65 good - jate
    66 some - ge'sol
    67 could – ret’liser
    69 see – haa’taylir
    70 other - ashi
    71 more than – ori’shya
    73 now - jii
    76 come, arrive - olaror
    77 its – be’bic
    78 over - jaon
    79 think, calculate - mirdir
    80 also - balyc
    81 back - norac
    83 use - pirimmur
    84 two – t’ad
    86 our, ours - cuun
    87 work - borarir
    88 first – sol’yc
    89 well, healthy - jahaala
    92 new - vaar
    93 want - copaanir
    94 because - jorcu
    96 these - ibice
    97 give - dinuir
    98 day - tuur
    99 most – ’ne (suffix)
You may notice I'm missing about twenty words, but if you actually count grouped words it comes up to 99 (I think).

---
Thats it for now. Please: comments, questions, critiques, etc.
Ibic cuyi haan Yusta.

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Cuyan Atinii
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Re: Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by Cuyan Atinii » 18 Apr 2014 17:40

This page is getting a bit cluttered with discussion.
Discussion is good, though, so I decided to make this thread. Post questions, responses, spotted errors, and such there.
Ibic cuyi haan Yusta.

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always21
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Re: Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by always21 » 19 Jan 2021 18:49

Wow! Why are you knowing Mando'a so well? Where did you learn this? It's great! How can I come to this? I'm just beginning, looking what's the best way to learn it.

You surely know the phrase "this is the way" from the Star wars series " the mandalorian". I couldn't find a translation to Mando'a so far. Can you give me one? How does a real Mando say it? My first words....
Thanks
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Vlet Hansen
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Re: Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by Vlet Hansen » 23 Jan 2021 23:41

The strictest way to say it would be someithing like "Ibic cuy Yust" or "Ibic haar Yust", but Mandalorians simplify when they can, so just "bic yust" works as well.
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ca'tra
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Re: Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by ca'tra » 18 Feb 2021 22:46

I hadn't seen "yust" prior to downloading Mandor.pdf - any idea where it comes from?

I'd been using "Ibic te manda," which I had previously encountered searching random discussions online. The logic behind it was that while "the" (haar/te) is usually dropped, in this case it was significant enough to merit inclusion, and rather than translating "way" directly (path, etc.), the use of "manda" would imply "this is the essence of being Mandalorian."

Admittedly new to the language, but curious to learn more.
Mishuk gotal'u meshuroke, pako kyore.

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Re: Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by Vlet Hansen » 20 Feb 2021 19:30

Yust is the root word for paths and roads, you can see it in things like go'yust (combining the word for construction and engineering, referring to a built road) and yustapir (river, using the word for water) and yustarud (perimeter, referring to circles). The common element is yust, clearly referring to a path or way.

Manda is a great alternative given the context in which the phrase is used.
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Re: Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by ca'tra » 21 Feb 2021 18:35

Thanks for the explanation about yust, I hadn't encountered it yet. I've just started delving into the canon-adjacent vocabulary shared here outside of the dictionary... impressive work! The forum is a great resource, and it's nice to be able to talk to folks who share an interest in the language (meatspace friends have been less enthusiastic thus far ;) ).
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Re: Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by Vlet Hansen » 22 Feb 2021 04:38

Yeah, the real trick is getting people to agree

I think we have as many dialects as we do speakers :p
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Re: Want to learn Mando'a? Hopefully I can help

Unread post by ca'tra » 23 Feb 2021 00:50

Ha! All good. I do some writing at work and it's hard enough to get the group to agree on a brief passage in English. As long as we wind up with something that's understandable and doesn't break any cardinal rules, we're probably in good shape. :mrgreen:
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