tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Jan 18 21:51:46 1998
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Re: Unofficial words (Was: Re puqpu')
ja' charghwI':
>> >be curved (sv) - SIH
>
>If I said, {SIH 'etlhwIj}, would you think the blade was curved
>or damaged?
If it were damaged, I would expect you to have said {'etlhwIj QIHlu'}.
I don't have any automatic assumption that a blade which bends is damaged.
>> >be straight (sv) - SIHbe'
>
>If I said, {SIHbe' betleHwIj}, would you think I had one with a
>straight blade, or would you think I meant it had not been
>damaged?
Similarly, I don't have any reason to assume that straightness implies
correctness. Especially since a perfect betleH is *not* straight!
>> >pocket, pigeonhole, niche - DaqHom
>
>One word for all these?
Without context, that's the best I could come up with.
>I personally would like a verb to describe the intersection of
>the meanings of the English words "innocent" and "insensitive".
>Hell, I'd like THAT word in ENGLISH.
I'm curious. What sort of behavior would you want to describe like this?
(I think the adjective "naive" comes close to what you want, by the way.)
>I'll stop my rant here. I think this whole approach to the
>language stinks. I respect ghunchu'wI' for trying to respond to
>a request, but as he has expressed his reservations about this,
>mine are far more severe.
I don't normally take seriously such requests for translations of words.
But this one was full of such an interesting mix of trivia and challenge
that I couldn't stop myself.
-- ghunchu'wI'