Re: Concerning trolls - a translation excercise

On Feb 20, 2009, at 4∞41 AM, Peter Bleackley wrote:�>�> Let him be pitied,
who thinks there is only one way to make a�> language.���This seemed
like a good one for Kamakawi, and so the first�thing that came to my head
was, "Do I have something for 'pity'?"�Turns out I don't. I didn't know
exactly what I thought of the�concept, so I went to Hawaiian (my usual
inspiration for Kamakawi).��If you look it up in the English to Hawaiian
dictionary, believe�it or not, the first definition is: aloha! That's right,
the word that�means "hello", "goodbye" and "love" also means "pity" (cf.
Aloha�'ino, "What a pity!"). Nevertheless, that clearly wasn't it's
original�meaning; it has just been extended to accommodate that
meaning.��So I went to the next translation: mokuahua. (Oh, and I
should�note that the way I do this is I look thing up in the English
to�Hawaiian dictionary, then look the results up in the Hawaiian�to English
dictionary. Gets at the actual meaning better.)�Mokuahua, it turns out, means
sorrow or grief. So it seems�like what you have here are two already existing
expressions�being extended to approximate "pity", and they're
approaching�it from opposite ends: love and sorrow.��Then, just for the
heck of it, I thought I'd look up the last word,�too: polohina. Polohina
means "gray, misty, smoky". This,�however, has been extended to mean (and
this is exact Elbert�and Pukui definition): "affectionate grief, pity." What
a fantastic�English definition of pity! Affectionate grief. I think that
really�captures it.��Of course, we now have a new usage of pity, which I
think might�be in play here. Pity can also mean, in a way, condescension.
To�pity someone or something is to suggest that it's so far from the�realm
of relevance or adequacy that the pitier, who is superior,�can deign to pity
it. Man, I love language! Things just keep�happening;�keep changing. It's
kind of refreshing. The only way one can ever�know everything about a
language is if it's dead. Living language�is always exciting.��What I did
for Kamakawi, then, was I used a now non-productive�derivation method where I
upstep all the vowels to create a word�that means something like "to be
covered by the original word".�It's usually used with a word like "moss" to
mean "mossy", or the�like. I've applied it to the word /kelea/, "sorrow", to
get /kilie/,�"pity". It starts with the glyph for /ki/, "day", which either
looks�like the sun rising over the mountains, or the sun setting behind�the
mountains (depends on who's looking). Similarly, /kilie/ can�be positive or
negative. In Kamakawi, it's about an even split with�these "cover" words:
sometimes it means full of; sometimes covered�by. It might mean that the
emotion is sincerely felt; it might just�be assumed, or a pretense. Depends
on the user, and the situation.��Anywhere, here's the translation:��A
kilie i lea poe hale i amo, ae i ape kane ie hele o kalaka neape.�/new.sbj.
pity OBJ. he REL.-s.sbj. believe OBJ. it, o.sbj. exist one�path for-DEF.
creation GEN. language only/�"Pity him who believes that there's only one way
for creating
a�language."��-David�*******************************************************************�"A
male love inevivi i'ala'i oku i ue pokulu'ume o heki a."�"No eternal reward
will forgive us now for wasting the dawn."��-Jim
Morrison��http://dedalvs.conlang.org/�

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