Re: RELAY INSTRUCTIONS!!! was Re: new relay

Teoh wrote:
> > And what if the language is even stranger than English.  Suppose there
>is
> > a language that says that /bav@n&nT/ is "fool" or "trickster" in one
> > gender "foreigner" in another, and "someone who worships the Evil Gods
> > that arrived here but a generation ago" in yet another?  Am I supposed
>to
> > give all meanings without noting which belongs to which gender?  If I
> > noted which meaning went with which gender, would that break the rules?
>
>I think these examples fall under idiomatic meanings. And since idioms are
>rarely "guessible", I would think it's unfair to leave it up to the reader
>to figure it out; I would either put each meaning under a separate entry,
>or at least mention the non-obvious meanings under the word in question.
Sometimes a such note will be absolutely necessary. To take an example from
Tairezazh - _spont_ means "hunt" and _-el_ is the commonest agental ending.
Despite this, _spontel_ does NOT mean "hunter". Instead, if refers to a
certain class of military space vessel. English "hunter" would have to be
translated with something else. _Azgel_ "searcher" or _neikrost_ "hunter (of
animals)" would do in most instances.

                                                        Andreas
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