tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Aug 29 08:36:52 1996
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Re: translation of "nonbeliever"
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>Date: Tue, 27 Aug 1996 19:56:21 -0700
>From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
>[email protected] writes:
>>I am trying to translate "disbeliever" into Klingon. This is my version:
>> Harbe'wI'
>>This is roughly translated "one who does not believe."
>I think that's about the best translation of {Harbe'wI'} that one can give.
>It sounds pretty close to "nonbeliever" to me.
>How about a couple of variations on the theme?
>{HarHa'wI'} "one who disbelieves", i.e. who actively believes something
>other than what a "believer" believes.
>{HarQo'wI'} "one who refuses to believe", which I think is a better way
>to translate "disbeliever".
IMO, all of these could be seen as unbeliever/disbeliever, with different
connotations, shades of meaning, and implications, depending on what the
speaker wanted.
"Harbe'" would be "not to believe," the most neutral of the three. A
Harbe'wI' simply doesn't believe in whatever we're talking about, and no
reason is given as to why or even if that's a good or bad thing. It's
neutral and fairly general.
"HarQo'" is "refuses to believe." A HarQo'wI' *knows* about whatever is
under discussion, but deliberately does not believe it. A Harbe'wI' might
conceivably be ignorant (though in that case we'd more likely say Sovbe'wI'
or something), but a HarQo'wI' knows and doesn't believe/disbelieves on
purpose. The "Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" series would probably have
to use "HarQo'": he knows but won't believe it. If the thing in question
is something the speaker considers worthy of belief, this is a little
pejorative. A Harbe'wI' might know something but not enough to be
convinced, but the HarQo'wI''s unbelief is his own doing.
"HarHa'" I see as more likely to evoke the "wrongly" aspect of "-Ha'." A
HarHa'wI' believes *wrong*. It's a more direct statement of disapproval by
the speaker: this person is at best misguided, at worst wrong-headed and
even evil. If I were trying to foment religious hatred against the infidel
heathens, I'd call them HarHa'wI'.
So to me, all of these are in some sense "unbelievers," the question is
just what flavor of meaning do you want to attach.
~mark
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