tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed May 21 08:00:25 2003
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Great [Was: Re: Tao Te Ching Chp. 34]
- From: "Agnieszka Solska" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Great [Was: Re: Tao Te Ching Chp. 34]
- Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 12:56:07 +0000
lab ghunchu'wI':
:ja' 'ISqu':
:>SoD Da mIw'a' Dun
:>The great Tao flows like a flood.
:
:lugh'a' <Dun>? chaq qech vIyajbe'. qaqlaw'
:<potlh>, <tIn>, <HoS> joq.
Qapbe''a' <Dun>? China Hol mu' "da4" (great) vImughmeH mu' <Dun> vIlo'
mupIlmoHmo' vIttlheghvam:
<ta'mey Dun, bommey Dun>
Is really <Dun> such a bad choice? My choice of <Dun> for the Chinese "da4"
(great) was motivated mainly by the proverb "Great deeds, great songs" (TKW,
15).
DIvI' Hol lo'lu'taHvIS ngeD mu'vam mughmeH Qu'. Qapchu' mu' "great".
Do'Ha' tlhIngan Hol lo'lu'taHvIS ngeDbe' Qu'. {tIn} 'oSbej "da4/great" 'ach
latlh qechmey 'oS je. DuHmey Sar vIqelmeH tetlh vIcherta':
- tIn // great, big
(yIqel: great crowd)
- potlh // important, significant, consequential
(yIqel: great issues)
- nIv // superior, superlative; of high rank
(yIqel: great idea; great lady)
- HoS(ghaj) // strong, powerful
(yIqel: great powers)
- noy // famous, noted, renowned, notable
(yIqel: great actor)
- QaQ // fine, good,
(yIqel: great time/book/film/etc.)
- pov // superb, excellent, marvelous
(yIqel: great performance)
- quv // glorious, esteemed
(yIqel: great deeds)
- Dun // wonderful, (great cake)
(yIqel: great cake/time/etc)
- {-'a'} // chief, main
(yIqel: great hall)
- {-'a'}?? // extreme
(yIqel: great pain)
In Chapter 34, {potlh} could work better than {Dun} because the whole
chapter hinges on the double meaning of "da" (big/important, significant)
and "xiao" (small/insignificant). Most English translations fail to provide
a pair of opposites that would work in exactly the same way and admittedly
{Dun/ram} is not a perfect choice. The problem is that {mIw'a' potlh} is
ambiguous. In fact, I used this phrase in Chp. 14 to mean "the essence of
Tao".
Another problem is that some of the words you suggest (as well as many other
words from my list) will not work in places where "da4" describes other
things apart from Tao. For instance, in chapter 25 we have "da4 dao4" (great
Tao) and then other "great things" are listed:
Indeed, Tao is great.
Heaven is great.
The earth is great.
People are great, too.
Dunbej mIw'a'.
Dun chal.
Dun tera'.
Dun je nuvpu'.
{Dun} seems to work here. I'm less sure about {potlh} and {nIv}, and I'm
really doubtful about {tIn}, {HoS} {quv} or {noy}. The only word that comes
to my mind is {Doj} but I see no reason why I should use it instead of
{Dun}. After all, aren't we impressed by things which we consider to be ...
hmm ...{Dun}?
Well, I'd be very happy to hear some comments.
'ISqu'
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