tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 03 09:06:08 1996
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Re: KLBC on naming convention
- From: Marc Ruehlaender <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: KLBC on naming convention
- Date: Tue, 03 Dec 1996 11:06:07 CST
- In-Reply-To: Your message of "Tue, 03 Dec 1996 08:51:06 PST." <[email protected]>
> The reason I prefer the passive voice when translating {-lu'} is
> that, since English simply lacks any equivalent construction to
> an indefinite subject, both the vague subject "one" and the
> passive voice both approximate this concept. Meanwhile, the
> passive voice does a better job of moving the focus away from
> the subject and toward the verb and its object, which seems to
> be the point of the indefinite subject.
>
We agree completely. I'm simply saying that - coming from the
English and going to Klingon - you should be careful when
translating passive voice using {-lu'}. The other way is no
problem at all. English is very good at using passive voice,
so this should be how to translate {-lu'}. German e.g. is better
with active voice, so I prefer translating {-lu'} using "man",
the equivalent of the English "one", indicating indefinite subject.
> Meanwhile, when {-laH} is absent, there is apparently a subtle
> difference between {Xlu'} and {X vay'}. Just as you can have
> intransitive verbs, or verbs which don't mention the direct
> object because it is not important {DaH jISop}, {-lu'} gives us
> a verb where the subject is unimportant enough to not even
> mention. That is what I see {-lu'} doing and I think the passive
> voice comes closer in most cases to describing this than do
> other means of expressing an indefinite subject. "The
> shuttlecraft is wrecked," places less focus on the subject than
> "One wrecked the shuttlecraft." That is why I prefer the passive
> voice in most cases.
>
However, I'd rather equate "One wrecked the shuttle" to "The shuttle
_has been_ wrecked" than to "The shuttle is wrecked" (of course
assuming that the latter is not used in an active sense but in a
stative sense - otherwise they are again identical to each other)
HomDoq