tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jul 29 13:52:43 2002

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: nach (was: Re: Unsubscribe me -please-!!!)

lab Quvar:

>>>Hoch QIn nachDaq mIw Dellu'.
>>
>>mu'tlheghvam vIyaj 'ach mu'tlheghvamDaq QapHa' mu' <nach> 'e' vIHar.
>>porgh 'ay' neH 'oS mu' <nach> 'e' vIHar.
>
>bIlugh, porgh 'ay' 'oS mu'vam.
>DIvI' Hol jatlhlu'DI', QIn mu'tlhegh wa' <header> ponglu'. *germany* >Hol 
>lo'lu'DI' jatlhlu' <Kopfdaten>. Damughchugh jatlh <nach De'>
>
>vaj tlhIngan mu' <nach> vIlo'. porgh 'ay' vIDelbe'bej. *QIn nach* vIDel.

jIjangmeH DIvI' Hol vIlo'. jItlhIj.


Just because the English word "header" and the German word "Kopfdaten" are 
related to the words "head" and "Kopf" respectively does not allow us to 
assume that Klingons use the word {nach} to mean "header". The
so-called "metaphorical extensions" involving parts of the body are common 
in English and Klingon but what works in one language may not work in the 
other one.

For example, I doubt we can use the expression <??leng 'uS wa'DIch/Qav> 
merely because English has the expression "the first/last leg of the 
journey". Similarly, although speakers of English may say "at the foot of 
the mountain", it would probably be wrong to identify a location by saying 
<??HuD qamDaq>. Conversely, if an English-speaking Klingon said "??the hand 
of my axe is broken", only a Klingon-speaking Terran would instantly know 
that the Kligon was referring to the axe's blade {ghIt: literally flat, open 
hand} and not its handle {DeS: literally arm}. Often, the context would 
help. I can easily imagine a Klingon vutwI' on a cultural exchange, learning 
to cook minestrone or tomato soup. The chef and human trainees would 
probably smile if s/he mentioned "the pot's elbows" but they would have no 
problems understanding. The context of your message was very clear so you
would have been understood if, instead of <QIn nach>, you had used
<!?QIn mIv> or even <!?QIn beb> to mean "header".

Bottom line: I understood what you meant by <QIn nach> because of the 
context and because I understand English. Whether <QIn nach> does mean 
"header" remains to be seen.

'ISqu'




_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

Back to archive top level