Second person plural pronoun

[Yaarel]

All of those sound fairly clunky to me.

Are you aiming towards writing sometspecific for an audience, or juat musing about English usage?

It is for work but I figure this is something a D&D publisher sometimes needs to think about.

I am trying to find the optimal balance between precise meaning (important here) and sounding natural (conversational) to hearers and readers.

I am translating a text that is largely dialogue, and who exactly is being referred to can matter.

 

[Parmandur]

It is for work but I figure this is something a D&D publisher sometimes needs to think about.

I am trying to find the optimal balance between precise meaning (important here) and sounding natural (conversational) to hearers and readers.

I am translating a text that is largely dialogue, and who exactly is being referred to can matter.

Given that context...strictly following the plural second person usage of "you/your" is probably the way to go, same as a news broadcaster or lawyer would do. To just about any English speaker, that will flow naturally.

 

[Yaarel]

Given that context...strictly following the plural second person usage of "you/your" is probably the way to go, same as a news broadcaster or lawyer would do. To just about any English speaker, that will flow naturally.

Normally, yes, of course. But this text has many contexts that require the English speaker to know unambiguously whether the referent is singular or plural.

Too bad I cant revive "thou", which solves the problem, but then sounds intentionally archaic.

 

[Parmandur]

Normally, yes, of course. But this text has many contexts that require the English speaker to know unambiguously whether the referent is singular or plural.

Too bad I cant revive "thou", which solves the problem, but then sounds intentionally archaic.

You would think that, but that ambiguity is normal in English texts, and Engliah speakers navigate it based on context without much of an issue. Trying to draw attention to the difference via pronoun usage would, rather, feel off.

And trust me, I've done Latin to E glish translations so I understand that issue, and boy is it weird to transition from one approach to the other.

 

[Yaarel]

You would think that, but that ambiguity is normal in English texts, and Engliah speakers navigate it based on context without much of an issue. Trying to draw attention to the difference via pronoun usage would, rather, feel off.

And trust me, I've done Latin to E glish translations so I understand that issue, and boy is it weird to transition from one approach to the other.

I rarely use Latin (not even in archeology). But I did come to understand grammar because of it.

 

[Yaarel]

@Parmandur

In the archeology, Greek is super useful.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I rarely use Latin (not even in archeology). But I did come to understand grammar because of it.

Do you think the everyday Roman-in-the-street rigorously applied the rules of Latin grammar?

The rules of grammar try to describe language as it is actually used. They follow usage, they do not create it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

@Parmandur

In the archeology, Greek is super useful.

"It's all Greek to me."
- Casca, Julius Caesar

(This was a very multi-levelled joke BTW).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Trying to draw attention to the difference via pronoun usage would, rather, feel off.

Tolkien did it.


If this is an academic translation, I see no reason not to use "thou" and explain why in a footnote.

 

[Yaarel]

Do you think the everyday Roman-in-the-street rigorously applied the rules of Latin grammar?

The rules of grammar try to describe language as it is actually used. They follow usage, they do not create it.

Today, Latin is taught with rigorous grammar. This is after centuries of grammarians using Latin grammatical terms as the standard to describe the grammar of other languages.

I rarely use Latin, tho it sometimes happens when referencing, such as what Plinius says about something. But I use the understanding of complex grammatical structures extensively.