#bajur

[postcards-from-mandalore]

Ni di'kutla, I nearly forgot! This is what this blog's title means.

Ni di'kutla - I'm an idiot

Ni hayc adat shi gotalu jate kara o'r oyu'baat - I'm just a simple/honest/plain man (person) just making good stars (luck/destiny) in the universe

[cyberpunkhopendreams]

I had a silly idea for all you Mando'a linguists: The Dangerous Book for Boys/Daring Book for Girls reimagined in Mando'a for the ade to learn basic skills plus some games, songs, and history.

[postcards-from-mandalore]

Ke sirbu ori'kaabla'shya par droten o'r shebs!

Earlier today I replied to someone on Reddit wanting a Mando'a translation for 'This is The Way' to use as a tattoo. Cool, I can do that. I gave the answer, 'Ibic haar yust', showed my work & pointed kaysh at the MC dictionary if they wanted to double check. Later someone posted a conflicting answer that they'd nabbed from Lingojam. Here's the reply I posted, jorcu bic liniba tatugir:

Translators are notoriously unreliable. You want some Mando script for a drawing or something, ok I guess, but don't use one for something that's permanently going on your body.

They don't translate for meaning, they don't conjugate properly & when they can't find a word they make up junk.

Don't use translators, especially not for a tattoo. It'll be like the Mando'a version of being all excited for your Chinese symbol tatt you think means 'courage' or something only to find out it really says 'soup'. Seriously, don't do it.

Sirbu ori'kaabla'shya par droten o'r shebs! - Say it louder for the people in the back!

Kaysh - he/she/they. Mando'a doesn't use gendered cases. It's also used for the possessive forms of his/hers/theirs. Handy when you don't know the particulars of the person you're speaking to/about.

Jorcu bic liniba tatugir - because it needs repeating

-=Changelog=- Belatedly added the 'Ke' to the title.

[postcards-from-mandalore]

Ni Jorhamu Mand'alor the Destroyer

This is a quote from Ranah Teh Naast, Mand'alor the Destroyer upon confronting the Consul of the city of Luon, which her Mando'ade were besieging at the time. Jate ca'narase!

Original, Mando'a, translation

"Here's why you can't exterminate us, aruetii. Ibic jorbe gar nu'lise kyr'amur mhi, aruetii, This (is the) reason you not able (to) kill us, outsider

We're not huddled in one place — we span the galaxy. Mhi nu'haaranovo solus taap - mhi gayiyli dos oyu'baat. We don't hide (in) one location - we spread across the universe

We need no lords or leaders — so you can't destroy our command. Mhi nu'liniba kelhave ra alore - gar nu'naasta cuun al'verdes We don't need rulers or leaders - you can't destroy our commanders

We can live without technology — so we can fight with our bare hands. Mhi lise oyacyir ures gotase - jor'bic mhi lise akaanir ti cuun ut'reeyah gaane We are able live without devices - therefore we can fight with our empty hands

We have no species or bloodline — so we can rebuild our ranks with others who want to join us. Mhi gana naas agol'din ra taldin - jor'bic mhi lise gotal'ur tug'yc traat'aliite ti adate meg copaani joruur ti mhi We have/posses no species or bloodline - therefore we can/are able (to) make again squads with people who want to gather with us

We're more than just a people or an army, aruetii. Mhi cuyi ori'shya shi droten ra akaan'ade, aruetii We are more than just (a) people or (an) army, outsider

We're a culture. We're an idea. Mhi urman. Mhi mird. We (are a) culture. We (are an) idea.

And you can't kill ideas — but we certainly can kill you." Bal gar nu kyr'amu mirde - al mhi troch lise kyr'amur gar. And you can't kill ideas - but we certainly can kill you.

To hear this spoken:

Ranah.mp3

Ni jorhamu - I translate

Jate ca'narase - good times

[postcards-from-mandalore]

Haav Ca’nara Gehat’ike 1

Briika, briika, kih kara

“vaal ni midi “tion ad?”

Laam jaon haar uvet gar senu,

sa meshurok o’r te tra.

Smile, smile, little star

while I wonder “who (you are)?”

Up over The World you fly

like a gemstone in the sky.

Haav ca’nara gehat’ike - bedtime stories

[postcards-from-mandalore]

Me’ven?!?

So, RL has been a bit hectic lately & that’s meant my Mando’a study has gotten shoved to the back burner for the last month or so. I hate this. Hopefully I’ll get back into my usual groove tomorrow, as today is the last official day I have to run around taking care of everybody else’s stuff. I noticed today that I had botched a phrase on a recent post, these things happen, but it took me a while to even realize that it’d happened. I updated the post & added a changelog (which I love, it keeps my screw ups accountable) to the end.

Why does this matter? I’m so glad you asked. It matters, dear burc’ya, because you have to use what you’ve learned! I’ve studied other languages before & can tell you from long experience that if you don’t keep using the language you pick up you will lose it. And it slips away faster than you’d imagine (hence my taking a day to realize ‘kar’tayli’ & ‘kar’tayli darasuum’ are not the same thing in my last post).

So get out there & use what you’ve learned! Practice, play, study, translate, listen, write, do what works for you, but just keep going. I’ll see you all tomorrow! K’oyacyi!!

Me’ven - huh?, what? Can also be used like the Mando version of ‘WTF?’

Burc’ya - friend

Kar’tayli- to know

Kar’tayli darasuum - to love

K’oyacyi - cheers, hang in there, come back safely. Literally ‘stay alive’

[postcards-from-mandalore]

Ni yaimpa!

Su'cuy anade! Me'vaar ti gar? My house & my time are once again my own, though it was lovely to see my buir again. I'm getting back to posting more than reblogs, but today I'll start small. I'd like to talk about my favorite Mando'a words.

Someday this may change, but for a while now my favorite words have been jate'kara, and sho'cye.

Jate'kara literally means 'good stars', but more broadly means luck or destiny. I may be a bit biased, as I've always liked starry things & space, but I find this very evocative. If you can chart your path, if you follow your stars, you'll have good luck.

Sho'cye means ocean. If you say it out loud & let your mind wander a bit, it even sounds like water lapping the land. It's just ori'meshla to me. I lived in a coastal city for a number of years & I miss it. The ocean is stunning & the rain there smelled like nowhere I'd ever been, it was amazing. Sho'cye reminds me of it & bic ni briikase din.

Honorable mentions go to vorpan'oy - vegetation, nakar'mir - unknown, kebbur - to try, vercopaanir - to wish, hope, & pirjanad - hot sauce.

Ni yaimpa - I return

Su'cuy anade - hi everybody

Me'vaar ti gar? - what's new with you?

Buir - parent

Ori'meshla - very beautiful

Bic ni briikase din - it makes me happy. Literally, it gives me smiles.

[postcards-from-mandalore]

When I'm feeling discouraged I'm my Mando'a studies I like to remind myself that I speak it better than Sabine & know more words than Boba.