【英语时差8,16】阿凡达里的Na'vi语

 The World of Avatar The blockbuster film Avatar has been a smash hit at the box office in the UK and around the world, becoming the fastest film ever to earn $1bn (7bn yuan) in ticket sales. But as well as being an entertaining feast for the eyes, the sci-fi epic¹ also introduces movie-goers to a brand new language invented especially for the film. The movie is set on an alien planet called Pandora which is inhabited by many strange species. The most humanoid of the planet's inhabitants are the Na'vi, and it is the struggle between the Na'vi and human interlopers that forms the core narrative² of the film. In order to add authenticity³ to his vision of an alien race the film’s director James Cameron asked a professor of linguistics⁴ from the University of Southern California to invent a language for the Na'vi. Professor Paul Frommer worked with James Cameron for four years to build upon the original 30 words or so that the director had already come up with for the language. According to Professor Frommer, the most important aspect of the Na'vi language was that it could be articulated. "This is an alien language but obviously it has to be spoken by human actors," Professor Frommer told the BBC, "it has to be sounds that human beings are comfortable producing." The language currently has a lexicon⁵ of around 1000 words but Professor Frommer hopes to expand it in possible sequels to the film and in video games. The professor hopes that one day his creation will become as sophisticated as the Klingon alien language from the Star Trek⁶ films. "There's a translation of Hamlet into Klingon," says Professor Frommer. "If anything happened like this with Na'vi I'd be delighted."

1 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

2 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

3 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

4 linguistics   

n.语言学

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。

5 lexicon   

n.字典，专门词汇

参考例句：

• Chocolate equals sin in most people's lexicon.巧克力在大多数人的字典里等同于罪恶。
• Silent earthquakes are only just beginning to enter the public lexicon.无声地震才刚开始要成为众所周知的语汇。

6 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。