tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Apr 19 05:19:08 1996

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Re: Nouns as Verbs



Consulat General de Pologne <#[email protected]> writes:
\ [email protected] (Alan Anderson) wrote:
\ 
\ > macheq writes:
\ > >How do you say in Klingon:
\ > >1) "By the way:"
\ >
\ > I *don't* say it in Klingon.  This phrase usually carries no meaning;
\ > there's no point in translating it.  If you *do* intend for it to mean
\ > something, then say what you intend it to mean.  What does it mean to
\ > you?
\ 
\ It means: "In connection with what you have said/what I have said/what
\ has been said - may I make a remark/let me say something"
\ 
\ Easy?
Yes, but it seems to fall into the category of platitudes, which
Klingons eschew.  Just as a Klingon doesn't say "hello" or "good-bye",
s/he seems unlikely to say "by the way" - the phrase is just verbal
filler, conveying no meaning by itself, serving only to provide an
explicit link between two portions of a conversation.  So when one is
speaking tlhIngan Hol, it would make sense simply not to use the
phrase, rather than to hunt for a translation.

-marqoS


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