tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 28 21:45:11 1997
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Re: Loose translation "Under foot"
- From: "Q'ISt'ova (Eliseo d'Annunzio, Esq.)" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Loose translation "Under foot"
- Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 14:45:07 +1000 (EST)
- In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
On Fri, 25 Apr 1997, Marc Ruehlaender wrote:
> well, I would have to look up what it means in German, so probably it
> doesn't translate - "unter Fuss" doesn't make sense to me...
> but anyway, I would read the Klingon as either "under _a_ foot",
> "under _the_ foot", "under _feet_" or "under _the_ feet"
> I don't know if any of these would have the same meaning in the
> given context
Most likely it wouldn't, even though here, we are going on the possible
basis that good old tlhIngan Hol accepts colloquial Terran English terms
such as "under foot" (to be of lowliness, ie. to be a pest) and be
translated in the tlhIngan mind with the same flexibility as with the
English language... We must remember that tlhIngan Hol isn't as flexible
as English, and therefore cannot use slang or colloquial phrases expecting
them to be understood directly.
The use of "under foot" rather then "under your feet" in English would in
most cases be translated by the typical Terran as "being of low standard"
rather than as a directive to say "under one's foot". It is possible that
Klingons may interpret it in a similar fashion, I haven't had word from
anyone higher than my expertise tell me otherwise, so I'm not saying Nay
or Aye in either case. Possibly a verb such as "to be
unsuitable/unsatisfactory/a pest/a nuisance" may be more satisfactory than
a direct translation of "under foot".
Name : Q'ISto'va (Eliseo Christopher d'Annunzio, Esquire)
Email: [email protected]
URL : http://www.progsoc.uts.edu.au/~qris