Comments on: “How Mirka Got Her Sword,” Page 40

By: Dianne

Dianne — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:11:02 +0000

Interesting. Ir sounds like Ihr, which is the informal plural/archaic formal plural in German. If I were translating Hereville into German I’d probably have Mirka use “Ihr” for the troll…it seems like someone one should be formal with, but also maybe a little traditional. (It would be clear that she is not using Ihr in the informal plural because there is only one troll.)

By: Theodore

Theodore — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:00:28 +0000

Dianne, in the situation she is in the troll has to be seen as an adult stranger, not a friend, not an equal, definitely not a pet and certainly not somebody one can disrespect:

“Ir” seems to be the basic option, but there are some other possibilities.

By: Theodore

Theodore — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 08:52:46 +0000

Yochva! Of course, Yiddish has a formal form, it is a fairly decent languague, after all, not a primitive pidgin. It’s not much in use in the US though, according to some authors (from NYC and the like, I guess) quite a bit like English and informal as thou seest. Irtsen and dutsen, is already formal and informal and part of good Yiddish.

By: Yochva

Yochva — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 02:06:34 +0000

I don’t think Yiddish has formal and informal. It has male and female, singular and plural, but not formal and informal.

And I KNEW it wasn’t English! Barry, I’m sorry I keep forgetting about this comic. Not sorry for you, because you’ve got a huge readership, but sorry for ME, because I keep missing out!

By: Dianne

Dianne — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:06:57 +0000

Er…so where’s 27 August’s page? Also, does Yiddish have a formal and informal form of you? If so, which one is Mirka going to use for the troll if she can get it to move out of English into a civilized language?

By: marin

marin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:25:58 +0000

Great read. One of those comics that I stumble across and fall in love with right away :)

By: Daran

Daran — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:38:40 +0000

He? That troll has a purse.

So?

Or it’s very confident. The formalities are probably there primarily to provide the troll with amusement. It can afford to be “fair” when it fights because hit knows that if everyone follows the rules that it set up then it will win. The worst that can happen is that it loses an easy breakfast.

Not much of a breakfast, as I already pointed it.

But you’re right. Mirka can’t win by brute strength. She must have some secret weapon. My bet is that the top of her head will slowly sever itself from her body and start flying around firing laser beams.

That would be cool. I’d start rooting for her, if she did that.

For now… GO TROLL!!!

By: Dianne

Dianne — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:49:04 +0000

The troll is indeed too strong physically for Mirka to beat. But he’s also being quite foolish. The smart thing to do is defeat your attacker quickly, all this formality only works to his disadvantage.

Or it’s very confident. The formalities are probably there primarily to provide the troll with amusement. It can afford to be “fair” when it fights because hit knows that if everyone follows the rules that it set up then it will win. The worst that can happen is that it loses an easy breakfast. Or so it thinks now, anyway…Given that this is the story of Mirka, not the troll, there is a certain suspicion that things will not work out the way the troll expects.

By: Chayim

Chayim — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 05:24:58 +0000

[quote] I was also thinking of this one. Mirka seems to be trying brute force, and it’s the troll who is showing he has his wits about him. [/quote]

By: Maedra

Maedra — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:27:47 +0000

He? That troll has a purse. And yes, I was reminded of princess bride as well.