Re: Dictionary formats

Nik Taylor wrote:
>Andreas Johansson wrote:
> >
> > A trouble with dictionaries (mine at any rate) is that they make
>everything
> > look like a relex. F'rinstance, the Tairezazh words _gravun_ and
>_elkergast_
> > refer to quite different state structures, yet both are translated to
> > English as "empire"*!
>
>Interesting.  Words for political structures are very undeveloped in
>Uatakassi.  In the classical period that I study, there probably aren't
>any words for different types of structures, but in later times they'd
>probably develop some, either thru compounding or borrowing.  I have a
>hard time figuring out what they'd focus on in naming structures, so I
>just use English words in referring to their various political units
>(like, The Kassi Empire, the Sanle Empire, the Targden Republic, etc. -
>actually, I suppose the Kassi Empire could be called the Kassi
>Matriarchy, since the Empress is viewed as metaphorically the mother of
>her people)
Political terminology is one of the better developed bits of Tairezazh,
mainly because I've spent so much time on developing the political history
of Tshána. Some insight in Tairezan thinking may be gleaned from the fact
that their word for representative democracy is _zhreishkergast_ "rule by
chosen (ones)" with the emphasis on the representatives rather than on the
_demos_.

                                                   Andreas

PS In order to be nice to the English language, I've resolved to refer to
Taireza's inhabitants as "Tairezans", their culture as "Tairezan" etc rather
than using the native forms (_Tairezazhen_ and _Tairezazh_ respectively).
I'll still refer to the language itself as "Tairezazh" as I figure the name
to be reasonably well-known on the list.

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