I guess it depends on your interpretation of the song, but I'm not certain that it's necessary for the plot of the song to specify that it is a ferry as opposed to any other kind of voyage that you are paying for; the key, in my mind, is the idea of paying the person responsible for your safe passage before said goal has been achieved, for fear that they will not deliver on their part of the bargain.


An alternative to {pIn'a'} would be {DeghwI'} - "helmsman". In paq'batlh, for example, qotar is described as the DeghwI' of the Hegh Duj:


Daq SumHa'vo' wab Huj Qoylu'
qa' bIQ Dujvo' wab Huj Qoylu'
DeghwI' ghaH qotar'e'


//loghaD


From: tlhIngan-Hol <tlhingan-hol-bounces@lists.kli.org> on behalf of SuStel <sustel@trimboli.name>
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2020 16:55
To: tlhingan-hol@lists.kli.org
Subject: Re: [tlhIngan Hol] don't pay the ferryman
 
On 10/26/2020 11:47 AM, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
bom: don't pay the ferryman
QoQ ghom: twinball

"don't pay the ferryman, don't even fix a price, don't pay the ferryman until he gets you to the other side"

< bIQ Duj pIn'a' yIDIlQo', DIlmeH Huch poQbogh yIlajQo', bIQ Duj pIn'a' yIDIlQo', SoHvaD Dop Dop qengpu'pa' >

bomvam vImuSHa'.

I wonder if bIQ lupwI' pIn'a' might be better for ferryman. Transporting something or someone is integral to the meaning of ferry.

Instead of SoHvaD Dop Dop qengpu'pa', how about DuchIqmoHchu'pu'pa' before he has caused you to cross completely?

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name