>>285
> 1- What does a'o do there? Is she hoping that "do" is the addressee of a question?
On second thought {a'o} does not fit well with the utterance. I retract that word.
> 2- She doesn't ask any questions. Is there meant to be an implicit "xu go'i", "is that so?"
Perhaps adding {pei} might have been more accurate.
> 3- What exactly is "ticyxlu"? Something like trickster?
That's right.
> 4- Is the "theologian" implying that he also isn't one by saying he never met one?
Yes, she/he is being a trickster. Funny that you assume male for the answerer because I used {lo ninmu} for the questioner. ;)
The word "ceirsketadni", is supposed to mean god-science-student, or "Sufi"[1], but it may not be accurate. The actual description for the answerer is not relevant to the meaning of the tale, however. It could easily have been "blue hat wearers".
> a woman said to a theology student, "i want to ask you a question, but i heard that theology students are tricksters." the theology student replies by saying, "i don't know how true that is, since i've never met a theology student."
> correct?
Pretty much perfect!
> my first comment is that that's a weird story! it reads like a failed translation of a joke!? "ceirsketadni" is a pretty lujvo, i assume it means someone who's at seminary? & i'm not sure why you chose "ticyxlu" instead of just "tcica", what exactly does "ticyxlu" mean?
In the definition of "tcica" I saw "deceive/trick into misguided action (= {ticyxlu})", and that sounded quite suitable!
The moral of the story is that we spend our time believing hearsay and stereotypes, and that we should be more critical of these.
It's a story about Mullah Nasreddin (pictured), a Sufi.[2]
It's a translation of:
One day a woman came to Mullah Nasreddin and said;
"I want to ask a question, but Sufis are tricksters!"
The mullah replied, "I would not know if this were so madam, having never met a Sufi."
Really, I don't think the fact that it is Nasreddin, or the fact he is a Sufi, is relevant. As I said above. There just needed to be some property of this man that could be stereotyped.
I may rewrite it, so that it is more "optimised" to contain only the point itself. Into a "pure" form. That would be nice.
Maybe you can guys can try translating a short tale, in whatever style you like, elaborate or concise. And I will try to read it and understand the meaning of the story. :-)
Cheers guys.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasreddin