Oh, man. I LOVE the communication and translation focus of the Chanur novels! The way the language shifts back and forth, with very distinct voices for "hani talking to hani" versus "hani talking to mahe" versus "hani talking to kif" or "mahe talking to kif" is just so great. Along with the recognition that 'translation' is both hard work and prone to misunderstandings, and that abstract concepts are especially hard to grasp in translation.
One of the bits I remember most vividly is the meeting between Pyanfar and Sikkukkut, where she says, 'When you say the word 'friend,' I get very nervous,' and Sikkukkut replies, 'I suffer similar apprehensions when you use the word 'subordinate'.' ♥ Even two people who *aware* of the issues in translation don't have a magical fix for them. All they can do is be extra-cautious around culturally loaded words and remind everyone that translation is flawed.
The tc'a with their matrices are also great! There's a bit in the last book where the crew newbie has an accident involving a tc'a vehicle, and suggests to the captain that they get Station Control to explain to the tc'a about it. The captain's reaction: “That’s a myth. That’s a thorough-going myth. Station can approximate things like ‘Open the hatch,’ and ‘That’s a fire hazard!’ [...] They’ve been in space long before we were, and we still don’t know how to say ‘Stop it, you’re in my lane,’ and: ‘My ship can’t perform that maneuver.’
And the way everybody from Pyanfar to the kif to his own partner panics when it becames evident that Jik has been bargaining with the tc'a is another bit that really brings home their strangeness and the huge gaps in the interface between them and oxy-breathers.
(If you would really like to read the rest of the Chanur books, I, uh, can probably make that happen. Send me a PM?)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2020-12-10 01:16 am (UTC)One of the bits I remember most vividly is the meeting between Pyanfar and Sikkukkut, where she says, 'When you say the word 'friend,' I get very nervous,' and Sikkukkut replies, 'I suffer similar apprehensions when you use the word 'subordinate'.' ♥ Even two people who *aware* of the issues in translation don't have a magical fix for them. All they can do is be extra-cautious around culturally loaded words and remind everyone that translation is flawed.
The tc'a with their matrices are also great! There's a bit in the last book where the crew newbie has an accident involving a tc'a vehicle, and suggests to the captain that they get Station Control to explain to the tc'a about it. The captain's reaction: “That’s a myth. That’s a thorough-going myth. Station can approximate things like ‘Open the hatch,’ and ‘That’s a fire hazard!’ [...] They’ve been in space long before we were, and we still don’t know how to say ‘Stop it, you’re in my lane,’ and: ‘My ship can’t perform that maneuver.’
And the way everybody from Pyanfar to the kif to his own partner panics when it becames evident that Jik has been bargaining with the tc'a is another bit that really brings home their strangeness and the huge gaps in the interface between them and oxy-breathers.
(If you would really like to read the rest of the Chanur books, I, uh, can probably make that happen. Send me a PM?)