tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Mar 29 07:41:36 1994

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Re: Just Bored

>>>chay' tlhIngan Holvo' "I'm bored" Dajatlh
>
>>How about:
>
>> Dallaw' Hoch?
>
>
>>--HoD trI'Qal
>>  tlhwD lIy So'
>
>I normally translate "be bored" as {Dal ghu'} with a possessive on the
>{ghu'}:
>
>Dal ghu'wIj     "I'm bored."
>Dal ghu'lIj     "You're bored."
>
>...and you get the idea. Some other phrases for this construction could be:
>
>Daj ghu'wIj     "I'm interested." (simply opposite of bored)
>Qob ghu'Daj     "He's/She's in danger."
>tlhaQ ghu'chaj     "They are embarrased." (?)
>
>That last one I'm not so sure about. It could be an idiom, so who knows? But
>this kind of construction is quasi-useful if you know what words to use in
>it.
>
>
>DalHa'jaj ghu'raj
>
>Literally: "May your (pl) situations be non-boring."
>Stylistically: "Have fun!"
>
>
>Guido#1, Leader of All Guidos

I like the original-- Dal ghu'wIj.  I'm not so sure about extending
it out as a general pattern like that.  Here's my reasoning:

Dal ghu'lIj doesn't say "You're bored" to me.  I read it more as my
own (that is, the speaker's own) assessment of your situation. After
all, labeling something boring is a rather subjective categorization.
In other words, I'd take it to mean "Your situation is boring" in
the sense of "I wouldn't wanna be in your shoes."  That doesn't
necessarily mean that I think that *you* are bored with your
situation, just that *I* find it so.  For instance, suppose I were
talking to the captain of a garbage scow, who, for whatever reason,
legitimately enjoyed his work.  Still, I might express scorn for his
station in life by saying "Dal ghu'lIj".

See, this isn't a problem in the original, because I'm applying my
own subjective judgement of boringness to my *own* situation.  I
guess it all really stems from Dal seeming so subjective.  For
instance, Qob ghu'Daj seems just fine; dangerousness is a more objective
characterization.  It is describing the actual situation, rather
than how the person *feels* about it.

To get the perspective away from me, the speaker, and back onto
"you", mayhaps:

SoHvaD Dal ghu'     "You're bored."

                --Krankor

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