One particular passage struck me today, in thinking about Cardassians:
When I was on the ship, Arrem told me that many languages have a single word for sexual desire and the bond between mother and child and the bond between soulmates and the feeling for one’s home and worship of the sacred; they are all called love. There is no word that great in my language.
Cardassians have more words than many Humans do to talk about these things - relationships, love, secrets, information - because, to Cardassians, they’re all different, and they all need their own words.
(submitted by cosmictuesdays)
Yes and yes. I give them different words for family love and romantic love, for styles of talking, for ways to touch, for levels of permission…
Now, what concept does Fed Standard have fifteen ways of saying that Kardasi can only say once?
“Humour”?
“Disloyalty”?
I wonder?
Also, twenty points for quoting LeGuin, superhuman that she is.
cucumber-s
