tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Sep 25 22:10:26 1997
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Re: KLBC: make a mistake
ghel muHwI': [{ghel} "ask (a question)" from KGT]
>When KGT came out somebody mentioned {bachHa'} meaning
>"mistake" or similar. But what is the difference? (I don't have KGT)
>Which one would be better here?
jang Qov:
>{bachHa'} is slang, {Qagh} is correct usage. Possible analogous to "messed
>up" versus "made a mistake." I'd prefer {Qagh}.
{bachHa'} still *literally* means "mis-shoot"; the "make a mistake" idea
is merely a slang interpretation of the word. It's like calling someone
in English a "bloodsucker". The concept is not in the words' definition,
but in a cultural (or sub-cultural) understanding.
If you say "I'm ground up" in English, you won't make much sense. But
that is the literal translation of a slang Spanish term meaning "I am
exhausted, I am completely tired out." If your knowledge of Spanish
all comes from a dictionary, it will mean exactly the same thing to you
as the English phrase does -- not much. To someone who recognizes the
slang, it still literally *says* "I'm ground up," but there is a meaning
understood beyond the literal one.
For people beginning to learn Klingon, it's probably best not to try to
make use of slang. It's hard enough to keep track of the true literal
meanings without having to remember the slang interpretations, and most
of a beginner's effort should be concentrated on getting the grammar
right anyway.
-- ghunchu'wI'