[tlhIngan Hol] expressing "unguent"

[SuStel]

On 11/4/2021 4:30 PM, Will Martin wrote:
> You might also just consider {Hergh}. Sometimes, you don’t need to be 
> as specific in your translation as in the original, unless there’s a 
> reason that the specificity is important. Basically, if a Klingon 
> wanted to say what you are saying, would he care about the physical 
> features that the medicine has as an ointment as contrasted to some 
> other form of medicine? Is the spreading on skin or the sensations of 
> spreading it or any of the other features of the substance more 
> important than the medicinal features?

Why does anyone say anything specific? Because specificity is helpful 
and sometimes indispensible. I could say "Give me the allergy medicine," 
but if I want the nose spray instead of the pills, I'm going to say 
"Give me the allergy nasal spray."

My wife is vague like this all the time. She'll say things like, "Bring 
me my, uh, medicine," because she's busy doing three other things at the 
same time and she can't think of the name of it. Does she want her 
thyroid medicine? Antacid? Acetaminophen? I have to ask what medicine 
she wants, and she gets annoyed at me for not already knowing what she's 
talking about and making her stop thinking about what she's doing in 
order to remember the word for what she wants.

So no, the answer to the question isn't to dodge the question, because 
sooner or later you're going to need to name the stuff you want. Most 
likely, you'll want to name it the first time you mention it and only 
refer to it as "medicine" on subsequent mentions, so you'll still need 
to know the answer.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name