The excitement for the opening of Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom continues on April 6 with the release of the second pin in our Countdown to Pandora collection. You may recall reading in early March about the three countdown pins leading up to the opening on May 27. In the spirit of counting down, I’m delighted to share a sneak preview at another item that will immerse guests in their in-park experience like never before and connect them to this exotic new land. I recently spoke with merchandise product developer Cody Hampton about how guests can prepare for their visit this summer when the Na’vi Translator is released.
“This device was originally developed by Alpha Centauri Expeditions founder Marshall Lamm,” explained Cody. “The Na’vi have no written language, so the translator will be a helpful tool for any human visiting Pandora. Guests using the translator can learn how to pronounce 90 Na’vi words using interchangeable translation cards. The device also lights up at night, which makes it perfect for nighttime explorations on Pandora.”
The Na’vi Translator set will come packaged with 15 translation cards. The device has a clasp that extends up to 12-inches and can be attached to a belt or backpack.
Additional translation cards will be sold in trading card packs, each containing eight randomly selected cards. There are some common cards such as Nouns (Blue) and Adjectives (Purple). Other cards will be less common to find in the trading packs including Animals (Orange), Phrases (Aqua), and Landscapes (Tan). The rarest cards are Plants (Green) and Gear (Yellow).
“When selecting the words and phrases for this set, we thought about the most essential words a guest might use when exploring another country on Earth,” continued Cody. “My favorite word is ‘Ikran’ which means ‘Banshee.’ I must have said that word hundreds of times while developing products for Pandora [laughs].”
Cody partnered with Lightstorm Entertainment and Dr. Paul Frommer, creator of the Na’vi language for “Avatar,” to acquire audio recordings of spoken Na’vi words for the translator.
Look for the Na’vi Translator in Windtraders on Pandora this summer. Until then, I hope you will join us on April 6 at Discovery Trading Company in Disney’s Animal Kingdom for the release of the new limited edition pin shown above.
Oel Ngati Kameie.
Comments
Will there be a possible early release for these during AP previews in Mid-May before the official opening??
Can we get any info on “Banshee Connect” toy? Please cover that in another post. I am dying to know more about it!
Game of Thrones isn’t a “real” place, either, but it took the genius of “conlang” creator David Peterson to create Dothraki and Valryian — both speakable, learnable languages with grammars and dictionaries. In fact, if I remember correctly, David holds an annual “High Valyrian Haiku” contest, and he also speaks at various venues. As a Disney fan and also as a language teacher, I look forward to learning more about the Na’vi language.
I think young kids will absolutely love this – I know my 11 year old is excited.
Do you know how much they will cost?
@Kimberly – The Na’vi Translator Device is $19.99. The set includes the translator device and 15 cards. There are a total of 90 trading cards to collect. Other cards will be sold in trading card packs for $6.99 each. Each pack will contain 8 randomly selected cards.
Wow Tyler did you notice the different Languages used in the Star Wars movies. Star Trek episodes / movies I.E. (Klingon)had several different languages spoken in them. Even Blade Runner has several different dialects spoken in them. In Earth terms those are easier to learn than our own here. The differences in words meaning the same things or ideas. Does not that make us A people still.
@Tyler have you ever read the Lord of the Rings? Tolkien created several languages, sprinkling some phrases, even songs and poems, from these languages throughout LotR, and this added incredible depth, richness and detail to his story. Similarly, this idea for Avatar is undoubtedly meant to advance the storytelling of the land.
CMs will be trained to speak Navi.
these will be a dud, they will be at the outlets in no time
ok, I truly do not understand the point of the Navi translator, its not like we’re talking about a real place with a real language like Spain, or China. We’re talking about a fictional place with a fictional language. Are guests going to be expected to know how to say these words to the various CMs working in that section of the park? I’m guessing no, and I doubt the CMs are being trained to be fluent in the Navi language either. I am trying to keep an open mind about this expansion for my vacation this summer, but the more I see, the more I think I will skip the entire area, and instead do more in-depth exploring of the rest of DAK while my travel group is hanging out in that section.
Is the translator available now at the parks or on May 27th?
@Matthew – The Na’vi Translator Device will be released when Pandora – The World of Avatar opens to guests.
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