Lesson 3: Evidentiality and the particle Abé

Naboovian uses a device termed "evidentiality particles." They are short words that start off a sentance to tell the listener how the speaker knows what they know. They often take the place of such phrases as, "gossip has it" and "I heard it from a reliable sorce." A nice handy chart:

Sa- the speaker felt/feels/sees/saw it themselves
Sé- the speaker's opinion or thoughts
Si- the speaker knows this from gossip/hearsay
Su- this is a guess, the speaker doesn't know what they're talking about
Soé- this is obvious, common knowlege, or a fact
So- a trusted source told the speaker this

To exemplify:
terrothidavas ila. He died. (no evidentiality)
Sa terrothidavas ila. He died (I was there)
Sé terrothidavas ila. He died (he could still be alive, it's just my opinion.)
Si terrothidavas ila. Gossip has it that he died.
Su terrothidavas ila. I think he died...I didn't take his pulse, so I don't know.
Soé terrothidavas ila. He died. (his corpse is right there in front of you)
So terrothidavas ila. He died. (his wife told me)

Sa and Soé are the most commonly used.

Abé is an emphasis particle. Since Naboovian has no word for "a,an" or "the," (those being articles) Abé seves the purpose of "the" in cases where it is needed. It is also used to draw attention to something, for example, the word for "the Force" (this being a SW conlang), is "Abé abé Letulaya." The two "abé's" indicate that it is of special importance. However, it is important that you don't overuse abé. Use it sparingly.

Lesson 2: Pleasantries

…In case you travel to Naboo someday. ;)

I should start off with saying that I don't expect you to memorize all of this. But will it help you learn to speak Naboovian if you do memorize it? Absolutely.


Yes- Avieka
No- Payiel
Maybe- Parré
Please- Aralania
Thank you- Resirala
You’re welcome- Abé nirdaka
Bless you- Murmalli
Said when someone coughs- Sirda
I’m sorry- Devaranos ilo
Hello- Niradé
Goodbye- Ikeesé or Demaphekes nidoo sirdath or Sirdath

Ikeesé is a general word for goodbye. Demaphekes nidoo sirdath means literally “have peace” in a poetic dialect and can be used for “hello” or “goodbye.” Kind of like aloha. Sirdath just means “peace.”

Touristy Phrases

Do you speak Naboovian? English?
Kebieles rel kinethavi aru Naboo? Injili?

I don’t speak Naboovian/English.
Soé yiiel kiebelos ilo kimethavi aru Naboo/Injili.

I speak a little Naboovian/English.
Soé kebielos ilo abé ideth kimethavi aru Naboo/Injili.

What’s this called in Naboovian? English?
Utheyokiellas apé thé kimethavi aru Naboo? Injili?

Lesson 1: Pronunciation and Stress

I'm going to start with pronunciation and stress, like any self-respecting tutorial. Before I begin, though, I'm going to assume you know the difference between a consonant and a vowel, and at least a little bit about grammar.

Naboovian has most of the same consonants as English, and most of the same vowels. The following consonants are pronounced the same as in English: B, C, D, F, K, L, M, N, P, S, T, V, Y. J is pronounced as in "jump" or as in the the Z in "azure." R can be trilled, or not. Myself, I can't trill/roll my Rs, so I don't.

Vowels are reminiscent of Spanish/Italian. A as in father, E as in set, I as in machine. O is more like "aw", but think round when you say it. U rarely occurs, but is prunounced as in mute. É only occurs at the ends of some words, and is pronounced "ay." Y as a vowel is pronounced the same as the dipthogn AI, that is, "eye."

Dipthongs are two vowels smashed together, usually producing a different sound. Naboovian has seven: AI, AE, AO, EU, IE, OE, OO and EE. AI like "eye", AE is "ay," AO a quick "ah-oh," EU a quick "ay-oo," IE is "ee," OE is like "way." OO and EE are how you would imageine they'd be pronounced.

Digraphs are combinations of consonants. Naboovian has nine: PH, TH, RD, RM, RS, DM, RN, LL, RR. PH is "f", TH is actually DH. DH is a softer TH. It's a very fine difference, try comparing "this" to "these." Say it out loud a few times. RD, RM, RS, DM, RN, LL, and RR only occur in the middle of words, between two vowels, so they are pronounced more or less separately. Padmé, Eirtaé, Dormé, Versé.

Stress is simple. Two syllable words have stress usually on the first syllable. Three or more have it on the second- to-last syllable.

Here We Go...

Well, here I am. Here you are. I hope you're ready, because it's bound to be interesting.

Let's get one thing straight right away. This is not a blog in the traditional sense of a blog. I will not be stating personal information here. This is a tutorial.

This is my page for those who wish to learn to speak, read, or write Naboovian, my conlang. It's the fictional language of the planet Naboo, from the Star Wars universe. Yes, I'm crazy (don't doubt it for a second). This is my first attempt in trying to teach anyone a language, so this may or may not be helpful.

Enjoy!