Mando'a - QUICK GRAMMAR GUIDE

The language is a very regular. It has no cases; only two forms of the verb and a tense prefix system; and simple rules for creating adjectives out of nouns and verb stems. Spelling and punctuation have optional forms so it's
hard to be completely ungrammatical.

Word order indicates meaning, as in English.

VERBS

The infinitive ends in -ir, -ar, -ur, -or or -er. Removing the "r" usually produces the stem.

Sometimes an apostrophe separates the terminal vowel, to indicate the slight glottal stop of some Mandalorian accents. This apostrophe, known as a beten, or sigh-as in Mando'a-can also indicate breathing, pronunciation, or dropped letters.

Mando'a is predominantly a spoken language, and contractions and pronunciation variations occur just as in any language.

The verb cuyir (to be) is frequently dropped and indicated by word order, as in ni (cuyi) verd-I (am) a warrior.

To say "It's good", a Mandalorian will often just say jate (good) rather than bic jate - it (is) good - or the full form with the verb, bic cuyi jate.

The addition of the prefix tion turns a statement into a question.

The prefix ke or k' indicates a command. Using ke with the infinitive is
formal, but in everyday colloquial use the verb loses its -r ending.

To create the negative form of a verb-or, in many cases, a noun- add
the prefix n', nu, nu', or even ne (depending on ease of pronunciation) before either the whole sentence or the negative phrase, depending on meaning.

Pronunciation is always a key factor in determining which letters are dropped when spoken. The negative prefix often denotes a negative noun, such as ne'briikase (unhappy).

A summary of the verb forms, using jurir:

Ni juri kad: I carry a saber.
Nu'ni juri kad: I don't carry a saber.
Ni ven juri kad: I will carry a saber.
Ni ru juri kad: I carried a saber.
Ke jurir kad: Carry that saber! (Formal.)
Ke'nu jurir kad: Put that saber down! (Literally,
"Don't carry that saber!")

NOUNS

Gender nouns are the same for men and women. Gender is implied contextually, if relevant. Where gender clarity is necessary, the adjectives jagyc (male) or dalyc (female) are added.

There is no need to make verbs agree with subjects - there is one form only.

A prefix system indicates tenses. Colloquially, Mandalorians use only the present tense, but they adopted the prefixes ru (past) and ven (future) when dealing with species who need specific tenses.

There is no passive form. All verbs are active. If needed, the passive is formed by using the adjective and - if spoken in full - the verb cuyir.

The indefinite article eyn, (an) is almost always dropped except for emphasis, as is the definite article te, or the more emphatic haar (the).

Plurals are formed by adding -e. The "e" is always pronounced as "ay".

PRONOUNS

As with nouns, pronouns have no gender. Some are also possessives, such as gar, kaysh and val.

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS:

Adjectives and adverbs are formed by the addition of the suffix -la or -yc (pronounced eesh), depending on which makes pronunciation easier. There is only one form of the adjective.

The adverb is exactly the same as the adjective.

Comparatives and superlatives tend to be constructed from adjectives with -shy'a for the comparative or -ne for the superlative.

PRONUNCIATION

Mando'a is pronounced much as Basic, with a few exceptions. There is no "f," "x," or "z," although some regions do pronounce "p" almost as ph and "s" as z. Those letters have been added to the Mandalorian written alphabet to aid the transliteration of foreign words. Occasionally, the pronunciation of "t"s and
"d"s are swapped. "T" is the modern form; "d" is archaic. "V" and "w" are also sometimes interchangeable, as are "b" and "v"-another regional variation. "J" is now pronounced as a hard "j" as in joy, but is still heard as "y" in some communities.

The initial "h" in a word is usually aspirated, except in its archaic form in some songs and poems, and "h" is always pronounced when it occurs in the middle of a word.

The stress on syllables shown in the lexicon is as commonly spoken, but many Mandalorians place stress on different syllables.

Other points to note:

-uy: pronounced oo-ee
u: oo
cye: shay
-yc: sh after a vowel
c: k, when it comes before a at the beginning
of a word
c: s, when it comes before other vowels at the
beginning of a word or in the middle of a word
cy: sh or ch

Pronouncing terminal consonants varies in songs. They often become extra syllables. For examples, tor becomes to-rah and tang becomes tan-gah to maintain rhythm and meter.

© Lucasfilm 2006