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The big kafer question

Hello, new dude here (well not really)...

I just wanted to point out one thing that always "bugged" me about 2300AD. It's the word "kafer".

Now first of all, I didn't know the story behind the name and it was along time since i actually played 2300 (13 years ago I think). Still, the name buggers me.

Anyway, a couple of days ago I mentioned this to a friend while we were chit-chatting (or whatever it is called in English) about RPG’s, aging, employment and life in general. So I mentioned how the word sounded like the demeaning name for black Solomani originating from South Africa and how i thought this was "unfortunate".


And like how an angry cobra would snap he responded:
"Kafer is actually German for beetle."

And then his wife responded like an even angrier cobra and hence faster snapping:
"It's actually called käfer in German - it is spelled with an 'ä'."
(My german-language-center isn't often used and thus slow, but after some 10sec or so it kind of confirmed her statement.)

This lead to a complete new line of thought...

1.

IMO, for a non-english-fist-language-speaker, using a system written in English, specific words can be pronounced in two ways as a rule.

a. English pronunciation (KAY-fer)
b. Native (Swedish for me) pronunciation (KA-fer - where the 'a' would be p. like in Ambition)

So, certain words, like "New York", is an a-word
Whereas others, like "USA", is a b-word.
(Ok, neither is one singular word... but I think you understand)
The reason for some words being 'a' or 'b' can be flimsy, but "New York" is easy, it is close to impossible to pronounce it in Swedish with the spelling it has and also W doesn’t (formally) exist in the Swedish alphabet. "USA" being a 3 letter comb is also easy to explain why it belongs to 'b'.

2.

The difference between "kafer" and "käfer" is a big deal for a Swede (or a German I guess) since "a" and "ä" are two completely different letters and pronounced differently too. Even so it is understandable why the dots are left out in 2300AD. English speakers don't "see" them because the dots don't exist in their alphabet. I do it with French and their dimple-dinglythingy on the c-letter in "francais" so it's common.

(You don't know, so you use what you do know, to the best of your knowledge)


Now to make a long story short, the kafers (a mightily cool antagonist to Man i must say, I like them allot), should be spelled "käfers". If you are an English speaker and choose to categorize it as a b-word, you should try to pronounce it as "KE-fer" where the E is pronounced like in "Enterprise".

Well...apparently that is a lie, according to
http://www.napervillechorus.org/german.html
it is pronounced "KAY-fer", with a long "ä" wovel.
hmm...
(or maybe it's short? Then i am right and no lying is going on either.)


Ok, if you would like to pronounce it like how a Swede would pronounce a German word, then you better say "KE-fer".



corrected misspelling and such
 
Welcome aboard Gnusam


I always went with the explanation that kafer meant bug, or cockroach.

How it would be pronounced after being sent to every news and media outlet in human known space in 2300 is anybody's guess ;)
 
Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Welcome aboard Gnusam


I always went with the explanation that kafer meant bug, or cockroach.
I thought part of the reason for the word actually being "kafer" was that it was 2300AD-germans who meet them first. If this is incorrect well then... sure anything goes i guess.



How it would be pronounced after being sent to every news and media outlet in human known space in 2300 is anybody's guess ;)
ofcourse, i'm not so much talking about cnn2300, morelike the referee's sofa2005.

You say it as you like, i just told you how i just learned how "beetle" is spelled in german.
:cool:
 
Gnusam,

Yes, the word came from the German for 'bug' or 'beetle' and not the Afrikans' word 'kaffir'.

The GDW materials were quite clear on this point. It's mentioned a number of times and the 'Aurora Sourcebook' provides the most details. Apparently, each nationality in contact with the Kafers quickly developed a term for them. 'AS' even mentions a few words the French, Tanstaafls, and Ukrainians used. The word 'kafer' simply stuck that's all.

As for how it's supposed to be officially spelled and/or pronounced, who cares? This is 2300 and no language today will be spelled or pronounced in 2300 the same way it is currently.

I can see using differences in pronunciation as a nice bit of 'chrome' or 'fluff' in a session or campaign. A scout could excitedly radio in that the 'kef-FERS' were approaching, giving the PCs who pronounce the word as 'KAY-fer' a bit of a puzzle before the grenades start flying. You could even have some stiff-necked French military types insisting on using the 'official' French term for the kafers with all the communication and paperwork hassles that involves.

ForEx: The PCs are mercs hired by French colonial officials to clean-up a few scattered kafer parties still infesting the backwoods of a certain region. The PCs do so and, per contract, submit a written report of their activities only to be told that they won't be paid until the report is re-written with the 'proper' French word used in the place of kafer everywhere it appears.

By the way, welcome to COTI.


Have fun,
Bill
 
Originally posted by Bill Cameron:


Yes, the word came from the German for 'bug' or 'beetle' and not the Afrikans' word 'kaffir'.

The GDW materials were quite clear on this point. It's mentioned a number of times and the 'Aurora Sourcebook' provides the most details. Apparently, each nationality in contact with the Kafers quickly developed a term for them. 'AS' even mentions a few words the French, Tanstaafls, and Ukrainians used. The word 'kafer' simply stuck that's all.
I think the word that that should have been stuck is ‘käfer’, hence my posting.


As for how it's supposed to be officially spelled and/or pronounced, who cares?
Gnusam cares.



By the way, welcome to COTI.
Thank you Bill.
 
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