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

On Thu, 31 May 2001, Irina Rempt wrote:

>On Wed, 30 May 2001, Padraic Brown wrote:
>
>> The interlinear should ideally not provide any translation
>> information.
>
>What exactly do you mean by that? That I should gloss 'myray' only as
>"PRS-2s", not as "grind-PRS-2s", and put "grind" in the glossary
>only?
The former. The interlinear really shouldn't contain any content
information - this would make it too easy to "guide"  the next person
in line along the path _we_ wish them to go. Especially if 'myray' has
other meanings. A balance between "too easy because the interlinear
reads almost like an English sentence" and "too hard because no
extratextual information was given at all" needs to be aimed for.

I think it best if word meanings are kept in the glossary. Let the
next translator come to his own conclusions about what 'myray' means
in the given context. And let the next conlanger work a little!

I've found from past relays and translation exercises that the most
satisfying ones are those I've had to work at. A relay is not much fun
if the previous translator's conception of the English meaning of the
text is almost transparent within the interlinear. I have also found
that if too much information is given in the interlinear, I tend (to
my shame) to translate _from_ the interlinear and ignore the conlang
itself. All that conlanger's work went for naught because he made it
too easy!

I guess I didn't word that instruction well. How about this: "The
interlinear should ideally not provide any information on the meaning
of words. Word meaning should be extrapolated from the glossary and
grammatical information in the interlinear."

Padraic.

>   Irina

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