[97426] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Story: ghuv = The Recruit - 53
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Alan Anderson)
Mon Oct 21 16:55:10 2013
In-Reply-To: <CA+7zAmNBTzRbH0wOa==z6-gXeeDANfJjNxDy5K3afGY9MoWAJA@mail.gmail.com>
From: Alan Anderson <qunchuy@alcaco.net>
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 16:54:04 -0400
To: "De'vID" <de.vid.jonpin@gmail.com>
Cc: tlhIngan-Hol <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
Errors-To: tlhingan-hol-bounces@kli.org
On Mon, Oct 21, 2013 at 12:02 PM, De'vID <de.vid.jonpin@gmail.com> wrote:
> The English word "be confused" has several meanings, e.g., (1) being
> in a state of mental perplexity ("she was confused by the
> instructions"), (2) not clearly organised or expressed ("his argument
> is quite confused"), (3) mistaken for one another ("the twins are
> often confused [with each other]"). These are different concepts which
> don't necessarily map to the same word in another language.
Are you arguing that definition (3) is the proper one? I'm having a
difficult time coming up with ways to use {mIS} with that meaning.
Since the gloss is not "be confused for" or "be confused with", it
would seem to be impossible to use it with a singular subject. I also
can't see how to use {mISmoH} "confuse" in that sense without implying
that someone is causing things to resemble each other so that someone
else can't be certain which is which.
I also don't understand why you think a person being "mixed up" does
not imply a mental state of confusion. I agree that I probably
wouldn't look up that phrase if I didn't know the Klingon word for it,
but I have never had a problem using it that way. It's definitely part
of my vocabulary. When I use it I typically intend to describe
mistaken certainty. I would be surprised if Marc Okrand didn't share
that idiom.
Even if the original intent was as you suggest, I think twenty years
of consistent usage should carry enough weight to give its present
meaning the one Qov used. It's like {chuQun} "nobility" -- while I am
absolutely certain that it was supposed to mean an attribute similar
to {nur} "dignity", it's now widely recognized through usage to refer
to {joHpu'} "lords and/or ladies".
ja' Qov:
> Would you prefer mIS torgh yab?
I don't think that sentence addresses his complaint. If I understand
him correctly, he wants to read it as saying the mind is being
erroneously identified as something else (or vice versa).
-- ghunchu'wI'
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