[88346] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: If I were you...
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (David Trimboli)
Thu Nov 18 16:13:58 2010
From: "David Trimboli" <david@trimboli.name>
To: <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
In-Reply-To: <C305E6BD33E2654DAE1F8F403247B6A60218AC821DF2@EVS02.ad.uchicago.edu>
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:02:21 -0500
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
From: "Steven Boozer" <sboozer@uchicago.edu>
> lojmIt tI'wI' nuv:
>>It occurred to be yesterday that if someone asked me for advice and I
>>wanted to say, "If I were you, I'd pay more and get the better
>>widget,"
>>in Klingon, well, I can't. The "If I were you," part gets REALLY
>>weird,
>>no matter how I try to approach the problem.
>>
>>I just have to skip that part and say something like, {Doch qaq vImaS.
>>wagh'a'? ram!}
>
> Since Klingon doesn't have a subjunctive, how about:
>
> qeSwIj DaneHchugh, janHom wagh yIje'!
> If you want my advice, buy the expensive widget.
This may be an Englishism. "Buy the expensive widget" doesn't really
provide the "then" of the "if/then." What you want has nothing to do
with what *I* would do.
> janHom qaq DaDIl 'e' vIchup
> I suggest/recommend you pay for the better widget.
This works much better.
The idea behind "if I were you" is a lot more complicated and subtle
than its brevity makes it seem. It means "I have an opinion on the
matter and I am going to advise you on it using my own experience and
preferences: do <whatever>." This is probably a lot more nuanced than a
Klingon would get in most circumstances. Just saying {janHom wagh yIje'}
would achieve the same result. If the greater nuance is required, you
can start with the {'e' vIchup} route.
--
David Trimboli
http://www.trimboli.name/
