[Tlhingan-hol] Story: ghuv = The Recruit - 53

[Alan Anderson]

On Mon, Oct 21, 2013 at 12:02 PM, De'vID <de.vid.jonpin at 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'