[tlhIngan Hol] law' puS with the -taHvIS and type-9 clauses preceding each element

[SuStel]

On 2/16/2021 10:39 AM, De'vID wrote:
> On Tue, 16 Feb 2021 at 16:18, SuStel <sustel at trimboli.name 
> <mailto:sustel at trimboli.name>> wrote:
>
>     I think you're both assuming too much. You're assuming the
>     expression cannot be analyzed in the normal way. De'vID is
>     assuming that the English translation accurately reflects the
>     meaning of the Klingon proverb. I don't think either position is
>     clearly supportable. The Klingon sentence is odd, the English
>     translation is odd, and no Klingon has explained it further.
>
>
> I'll readily admit that I don't know what the English translation 
> actually means. But I think *some* interpretation of the English 
> translation has to accurately reflect the meaning of the Klingon 
> proverb (assuming Dr. Okrand didn't completely mess up here).
>
> There's no reason to believe that the *grammar* of Replacement 
> Proverbs is any different than normal sentences, is there? (Contrast 
> this with toasts, for which we're told explicitly that they follow 
> different grammatical rules.)

I see no reason why the grammar of replacement proverbs would be any 
different than normal sentences. I'm not the one arguing that. I'm just 
not assuming that the English translation is necessarily all that close 
to the meaning of the Klingon.

Okrand often translates loosely, especially on the two language tapes. I 
think some examination of sticky sentences like this is warranted, but 
we should not rely too heavily on the English translation to tell us 
exactly what's happening when we encounter strange grammar. Especially 
when the grammar comes from the language tapes, which are riddled with 
errors. In the real world, this may just have been a bad 
English-to-Klingon translation.

Sometimes it's enough to say, "Hmm, isn't that interesting?" and move 
on. I think this is one of those times.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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