tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jul 30 03:36:12 1996
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Re: Postmodernism & tlhIngan Hol
>>I remembered while studying French I found that when I spoke the language I
>>also thought in French. If I had to assemble an idea in English, then
>>translate, I would lose the intent of a statement - or lose the entire thread
>>of thought. Thinking in the language you are speaking does indeed influence
>>how thoughts are processed. And therefore your view of the world. When
>>speaking a language, you must take into account not only the words, but also
>>the principles of the language's society. The Klingon concept of honor, as
>>an example, implies much more than just the English word. Many problems with
>>translation arise from trying to do so directly - word for word - when what
>>should be translated is the idea or concept.
I agree that when you learn a language well enough that you begin thinking in
that new language. I don't know tlhIngan Hol fluently by any stretch of the
imagination, but I've already begun thinking in the language at times. However,
I don't believe this comes from the language, as postmodernism claims, but from
the culture. Klingons think differently, but not because of their language, but
because of their cultural conditioning. Take a Klingon out of his society,
teach him Federation standard and I guarantee he *won't* start watching Melrose
Place and singing Ricky Nelson tunes.
If, according to postmodern thought, you can't successfully escape your
language, this kind of understanding is tainted by the language you originally
learned. Thought is not independent of language and vice versa. If this is
true, then how *can* we think in a different language? Shouldn't this be
impossible under the postmodernist theory?
>>Generally, I think the creation of tlhIngan Hol does indeed fit the
>>postmodern philosophy.
According to postmodernists, however, you cannot know the individual reality of
the anyone else. You have no objective stance to observe truth, therefore you
have absolutely no basis for understanding. This becomes even more evident when
crossing cultures, where the "gaps" of misunderstanding become chasms. How,
then, can tlhIngan Hol be an *international* phenomenon? How can this very
alien language be understood and learned in any objective sense outside of the
culture of its creator? If you look at the postmodern philosophy, this may
happen on more of an "accidental" scale, but not on the huge scale that has
become evident through the KLI and smaller tlhIngan Hol organizations. Can
postmodernism as a theory reconcile this?
>>As I said, fascinating concept! Thanks for giving me a lot to think about
>>!!!!
>>
>>Deb A.
>>D'ahlkris
Hm. Now you got *me* thinking a tad deeper than I expected, too.
I must go and ponder further...
Dave S.
HarwI'na'