Metaphor in conlangs

[Rick Morneau <mnu@INEL.GOV>]

Howdy conlangers and Lojbanists!

Although this thread originated on Lojban List, I am sending a copy
to conlang list, since I think people there may find it interesting.

The basic problem under discussion is how to translate the expression
"look through a window" and to somehow get across the concept of
"through-ness"; i.e., the idea that the window is being used as a
pathway or channel. I suggested that an instrumental sense using a
word like "with" is the best way to translate it; i.e., "to look WITH
a window". My reason is that this approach will always be understood,
even if it sounds odd when translated into some natural languages.

Robert J. Chassell writes:
>
> When I look through the window at the field, I am usually
> observing.  (Here I am using "through" in the sense that my line of
> sight goes through the window, not that I am look "by means of the
> window".)
>

There is a serious potential problem here, stemming from the fact
that you are using the idea of "through" in a non-literal (i.e.,
metaphoric) sense. In other words, you are trying to translate an
English metaphoric usage into Lojban. Your translation will make
sense to English speakers, but will not make sense to all non-English
speakers.

It's instructive to consider how other languages represent the same
concept. Since Colin Fine disliked my French example, perhaps
examples from a different language will be more convincing. Consider
Russian:

     Russian: Ya   smotryu   v    okno.
     gloss:   I    look      in   window.
     English: I look through the window.

The more typical Russian word for "through" would be "cherez", and it
would be used in contexts involving physical movement along a path or
tunnel. It is NOT used in the above case. What's even more
interesting is that it is also not used in the case of throwing
something (such as a rock) through a window. In this case, the same
preposition "v" (meaning "into", since motion is implied) would be
used. Obviously, Russians do not think of a window as something that
one looks or moves THROUGH. Instead, one looks IN or moves INTO it.
Perhaps the thickness of the window is the defining criterion in the
way Russians think of a window.

Now, there are other languages that share the English metaphor:
Indonesian (melihat lewat = to see through or via) and Hungarian
(atnez = to thru-see) are similar to English. I suspect that speakers
of these languages will have no problem understanding the English
metaphor. However, there are other languages, like Russian, that see
things differently. The only one I know of offhand is Swahili, where
the word used to say "look through" would be "angalia", which implies
"looking out of or from".

Professional translators are intensely aware that translation of
metaphor is not only risky, but generally impossible. The more
abstract the metaphor, the greater the difficulty. And when a
translation fails, it either generates gibberish, or it means
something completely unintended. As a result, I suspect that your
attempt to translate "look through a window" will succeed only if the
listener/reader speaks a language that shares the English metaphor,
or unless you are so specific and detailed in your translation that
he effectively LEARNS the metaphor. If you feel you can succeed,
though, here are a few others you can try:

    Try to capture the "on-ness" in:  He played a song ON the piano.

    Try to capture the "under-ness" in: He worked UNDER Johnson for 3
                                           years.

My own feeling about metaphor is that it's use should be strongly
discouraged by conlang inventors by ensuring that the vocabulary is
sufficiently rich to make metaphor unnecessary. (I wouldn't want to
be a poet writing in a conlang. :-) The only way metaphor will work
properly is if the metaphoric system of the conlang is PRECISELY
defined. In effect, you must provide a "syntax and semantics" for the
metaphor of your language. Since a comprehensive analysis of the
metaphoric system of a NATURAL language has never been done (to my
knowledge), I doubt if providing such a system for a conlang is
technically feasible.

Avoid the use of metaphor in your conlang. Most attempts to
communicate using metaphor WILL fail. But since we tend to use
metaphor naturally and without thinking, this is easier said than
done. :-(

Regards,

Rick

--
*=*= Disclaimer: The INEL does not speak for me and vice versa =*=*
=  Rick Morneau            Idaho National Engineering Laboratory  =
*  mnu@inel.gov            Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415, USA          *
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