Difference between revisions of "Jawa Trade Language"

From Holocron - Star Wars Combine
Jump to: navigation, search
(Fixed errors.)
Line 9: Line 9:
 
| person = Another Common Jawa Phrase
 
| person = Another Common Jawa Phrase
 
}}
 
}}
−
The Jawa Trade Language is a variant of the Jawa language. Because Jawas used scents in their language that were not able to be distinguishable for non-Jawa traders, Jawas invented a spoken and written version that did not require scents. Because Jawas lack the ability to speak Basic and many other languages without assistance, this language is widely accepted by Jawas as the easiest way to communicate verbally with non-Jawas.
+
The Jawa Trade Language is a variant of the Jawa language. Jawas use scents in their language that are not distinguishable for non-Jawas. To maximize sales, Jawas invented a spoken and written variant that did not require scents. Because Jawas lack the ability to speak Basic and many other languages without assistance, this language is widely accepted by Jawas as the easiest way to communicate verbally with non-Jawas.
  
−
The language has been both useful for trading with Jawas and the cause of numerous jokes about Jawas. It is complicated for some races to learn, but as easy as directly translating words for other races.
+
The language has been both useful for trading with Jawas and the cause of numerous jokes about them. It is complicated for some races to learn, but as easy as directly translating words for other races.
  
 
==Earliest Writings==
 
==Earliest Writings==
 +
The ''Bene Alisimama'' was discovered and translated in Year 14 by Paul Luz who published the text, his translation, and notes to the Scholar's Guild[http://scholarsguild.forumotion.co.uk/t120-the-bene-alisimama-a-preliminary-study-of-the-great-jawa-epic]. It was found inscribed on four large monoliths deep inside an abandoned Jawa fortress in the Dune Sea. The writing and grammar appear to be an archaic version of Jawaese, or at least a primitive written grammar. Luz believed this was because the text was meant to aid an oral story-teller who would supply the implied pheromones that constitute a great deal of the native spoken dialect.
  
−
The ''Bene Alisimama'' was discovered and translated in Year 14 by Paul Luz who published the text, his translation, and notes to the Scholar's Guild[http://scholarsguild.forumotion.co.uk/t120-the-bene-alisimama-a-preliminary-study-of-the-great-jawa-epic]. It was found inscribed on four large monoliths deep inside an abandoned Jawa fortress in the Dune Sea. The writing and grammar appear to be an archaic version of Jawaese, or at least a primitive written grammar. Luz believed this was because the text was meant to aid an oral story-teller who would supply the implied pheromones that constitute a great deal of the native spoken dialect.
+
==The Creation of the Jawa Trade Language==
 +
Spoken Jawaese employs a complex system of pheromones alongside a common lexicon to communicate ideas. This accounts for most of the pungent odors associated with Jawas. With so few species communicating with these chemical signals and fewer species being able to interpret them, the Jawa clans adapted a variation of their language that did not rely on pheromones. This is what has come to be known as Jawa Trade Language.
  
−
==Relation to Jawa Dialects==
+
In an effort to maximize profits from non-Jawas, the Patchateeka and von Schlavendorf clans consulted with notable trader Uli-ah Gasfa at the Year 14 swap meet to invent an easy-to-use language that can be used by Jawas and non-Jawas alike. The first and largest part of this work, creating an alphabet and basic vocabulary, was completed with a more exhaustive grammar and lexicon still in the works.
−
Normal spoken Jawa language (other places called "Jawaeese") employs a complex system of pheromones along side the more common methods of oral grammar, syntax, and inflection to communicate ideas. This accounts for most of the pungent odors associated with Jawas. With so few species communicating with these chemical signals and fewer species being able to decode them, the Jawa clans adapted a form of their language that relied only on sound. This is what has come to be known as Jawa Trade Language. Jawa Trade Language was commonly known and spoken in business deals around Jawa's native Tatooine, but few were familiar with it outside of their desert homeland. In an effort to maximize profits by bringing down the learning curve for off-worlders, the Patchateeka and Von Schlavendorf clans consulted with notable trader and pirate Uli-ah Gasfa to codify the language. This way it could be more easily learned and more readily used by non-Jawas. The first and largest part of this work, rendering the alphabet and basic vocabulary, was completed and published in Year 14 with a more exhaustive grammar and lexicon still in the works.  
 
  
 
==Grammar Rules==
 
==Grammar Rules==

Revision as of 19:18, 25 September 2014

This image is a representation of all of the letters and numbers of Jawaese as well as the primary punctuation marker, the exclamation marker. The first 26 characters are directly translatable to Basic (A-Z). The characters that follow are also directly translatable to Basic (0-6, 8 and 9). The last character is directly taken from Basic as '!' as it is common for Jawas to shout phrases. Jawaese does not have a number 7 like other languages tend to have.
"Utinni!"
— A Common Jawa Phrase
"Utto nye usabia atoonyoba?"
— Another Common Jawa Phrase

The Jawa Trade Language is a variant of the Jawa language. Jawas use scents in their language that are not distinguishable for non-Jawas. To maximize sales, Jawas invented a spoken and written variant that did not require scents. Because Jawas lack the ability to speak Basic and many other languages without assistance, this language is widely accepted by Jawas as the easiest way to communicate verbally with non-Jawas.

The language has been both useful for trading with Jawas and the cause of numerous jokes about them. It is complicated for some races to learn, but as easy as directly translating words for other races.

Earliest Writings

The Bene Alisimama was discovered and translated in Year 14 by Paul Luz who published the text, his translation, and notes to the Scholar's Guild[1]. It was found inscribed on four large monoliths deep inside an abandoned Jawa fortress in the Dune Sea. The writing and grammar appear to be an archaic version of Jawaese, or at least a primitive written grammar. Luz believed this was because the text was meant to aid an oral story-teller who would supply the implied pheromones that constitute a great deal of the native spoken dialect.

The Creation of the Jawa Trade Language

Spoken Jawaese employs a complex system of pheromones alongside a common lexicon to communicate ideas. This accounts for most of the pungent odors associated with Jawas. With so few species communicating with these chemical signals and fewer species being able to interpret them, the Jawa clans adapted a variation of their language that did not rely on pheromones. This is what has come to be known as Jawa Trade Language.

In an effort to maximize profits from non-Jawas, the Patchateeka and von Schlavendorf clans consulted with notable trader Uli-ah Gasfa at the Year 14 swap meet to invent an easy-to-use language that can be used by Jawas and non-Jawas alike. The first and largest part of this work, creating an alphabet and basic vocabulary, was completed with a more exhaustive grammar and lexicon still in the works.

Grammar Rules

Common Words

While most words are able to be directly translatable into the Jawaese alphabet, some words do not follow this rule. To translate those words, the Basic-based word must first be replaced by its Jawaese counterpart and then the letters are directly translatable to Jawaese.

  • Above - tilba
  • All - beton
  • Always - gomjam
  • And - un
  • Back - kwa
  • Bantha - ugama
  • Bargain - bom'loo
  • Below - nufuzu
  • Broken - ko lopo
  • Burn - ha'mfoo
  • Buy - nye
  • Cave - kiizci
  • Chant - hazamuzee
  • City - jubinloo
  • Chief - ayafa gogowa
  • Clan - ayafa
  • Clean - meeglay
  • Cliff - dikwass
  • Cloud - kiluyak
  • Cold - oko
  • Cook - bazzok
  • Credit - toineepa
  • Curse - Nekkel juuvar obwegadada
  • Curse (Extreme) - Hkeek nkulla
  • Day - baba
  • Desert - waff'mla
  • Droid - atoonyoba
  • Dune - rillo
  • Empire - umpee
  • Encampment - cirkoza
  • Enemy - hunya
  • Equal - ysas
  • Far - bok
  • Father (large go) - jar k'osa gogowa
  • Find (scanner yes) - dook'wab'ibana
  • Fix - tando
  • Food - sooga
  • For - un
  • Friend - eyeta
  • Give - opawi
  • Go - ashuna
  • Good day - ubanya
  • Greetings - m'um m'aloo
  • High - ogo
  • Hole - m'nuta
  • Hot - wass
  • How - buja
  • I - ikee
  • Insurance - cona
  • Junk - dooka
  • Knife - ratapa
  • Large - jar k'osa
  • Later - yaytah
  • Long ago - kebee'oto
  • Make - kenza
  • Market - upezzo
  • Mine - m'bwa
  • Mother (large she) - jar k'osa tomo
  • Mountain - bopom kova
  • Much - mob
  • No - nyeta
  • Okay - mambay
  • Or -ooh
  • Power Plant - peetwooza
  • Pray - perupa
  • Rent - koosa
  • Repair - kurruzza
  • Return - tuputa
  • Run - gogowa
  • Rust - rubac
  • Sail barge - lo'wassa
  • Sale - peekay
  • Sand - ton ton
  • Sandcrawler - ton ton reve
  • Scanner - dook'wab
  • Sea - lika
  • Search (scanner far) - dook'wab'bok
  • Sell - pukay
  • She - tomo
  • Ship - reve
  • Shoot, Blast - shootogawa
  • Show - shumeneez
  • Sibling (equal made) - ysas kenza
  • Sleep - shanay
  • Spare Parts - opakwa
  • Speeder - speeda
  • Stars - lopima
  • Steal - m'tuske
  • Stop - sabioto
  • Take - go
  • Thank you - taa baa
  • That - mombay
  • Them - chikua
  • This - loo / nya mombay
  • Tomorrow - takiik
  • Too - gasha
  • Trade - waa
  • Up - okka
  • Used - usabia
  • Vaporator - vapoosza
  • Walk - umka
  • Want - utto
  • Warm - pibboz
  • Water - n'lappu
  • Weapon - keeza
  • Will be - weeza
  • Where - ookwass
  • Wow, Battle cry, Alert to other jawas, Come here - Utinni!
  • Yes - ibana
  • Yesterday - neng ooka
  • You - baa

Common Phrases

Certain common phrases may or may not translate directly.

  • Want to buy a used droid? - Utto nye usabia atoonyoba?
  • Show me the credits. - Shumeneez un toyneepa.
  • This is mine, all mine! - A beton nya mombay m'bwa!
  • That is mine. - Mombay m'bwa.
  • Hands off! - Togo togu!
  • Don't shoot! - Ny shootogawa!
  • Give it back! - Tandi kwa!
  • I want to trade. - Etee uwanna waa.
  • How much for this? - Go mob un loo?
  • How much? - Mob un loo?
  • Too much. - M'gasha.
  • I won't sell. - Ya e'um pukay.
  • This is not for sale. - Yanna kuzu peekay.
  • Let's make a deal. - Yukusu kenza keena.
  • I would like to rent a speeder. - Ikeena mee koosa ha speeda.
  • Does it have air-conditioning? - Ushabia namba kee koolee?
  • Is this an A6 or full A8 repulsor in-line power plant? - Ikeen nwab ba Ah-lyo ooh Ah-ho peetwooza?
  • I will be returning in _____ days. - Ikee weeza tuputa _____ baba.
  • I will take the insurance. - Ikee go cona.
  • I will not take the insurance. - Ikee nyeta go cona.
  • How far to _____? - Kuminee bok cuza _____?
  • Do you offer road service? - Kuh kiminay po luza?
  • Where is the nearest fuel station? - Ookwass dok pundwa keena?
  • Does that include unlimited mileage? - Ogama ho miketa keezo?

Numbers

Jawas have a unique numbering system that does not include the number seven. While there are plenty of theories to explain why, Jawas have never explained the reason. Numbers are written as words so 124 for example will be written as gakisewa-kokisewa-yo.

  • 1 - Po
  • 2 - Ko
  • 3 - Kyo
  • 4 - Yo
  • 5 - Dyo
  • 6 - Lyo
  • 7 - Does not exist in Jawa arithmetic
  • 8 - Ho
  • 9 - To
  • 10 - Kisewa
  • 100 - Gakisewa
  • 1,000 - Hakisewa
  • 100,000,000 - Jo jo muma

Possible Explanations for the Lack of a Number 7

See Also

Retrieved from "http://holocron.swcombine.com/index.php?title=Jawa_Trade_Language&oldid=54827"