On Thu, Jun 20, 2019 at 01:46:33PM +0300, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
The problem is that thinking in klingon, doesn't always lead to the given Ca'Non meaning.
For example, we have the {Say'qu'moH}, which is given as "sterilize". But if I thought in klingon, I would understand it to mean, "to make very clean", which is quite different from "sterilize".
I realize I'm jumping in late and may be missing earlier context, but in this particular instance I suspect you're thinking of a different meaning of "sterilize". The Klingon word {Say'qu'moH} presumably does *not* mean "to render incapable of reproduction" — in this case, I would assume that the translation as "sterilize" is meant in the sense of "remove all (microbial) life", which in a context where microbial life is perceived as a form of dirt really isn't all that far from "make very clean". It isn't meant to be an exact drop-in replacement for the English word, so much as a clue as to what a Klingon would usually say when an English speaker would use that particular English word. It's also likely that this particular Klingon word has acquired a more specific meaning that's not entirely predictable from the sum of its parts — and if you're going to think in Klingon, that also means taking those sorts of meanings into account. You can't just assume that every word means exactly and only what you see in the dictionary, just like you can't do that in English. - SapIr