The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rough Translation, by Jean M. Janis

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Title: Rough Translation

Author: Jean M. Janis

Illustrator: Hunter

Release Date: April 14, 2010 [EBook #31980]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUGH TRANSLATION ***

Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction December 1954.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.

Rough Translation

By JEAN M. JANIS

Illustrated by Hunter

Don't be ashamed if you can't blikkel any more. It's because
you couldn't help framishing.

* * * * *

"Shurgub," said the tape recorder. "Just like I told you before, Dr.
Blair, it's krandoor, so don't expect to vrillipax, because they just
won't stand for any. They'd sooner framish."

"Framish?" Jonathan heard his own voice played back by the recorder,
tinny and slightly nasal. "What is that, Mr. Easton?"

"_You_ know. Like when you guttip. Carooms get awfully bevvergrit.
Why, I saw one actually--"

"Let's go back a little, shall we?" Jonathan suggested. "What does
shurgub mean?"

There was a pause while the machine hummed and the recorder tape
whirred. Jonathan remembered the look on Easton's face when he had
asked him that. Easton had pulled away slightly, mouth open, eyes
hurt.

"Why--why, I _told_ you!" he had shouted. "Weeks ago! What's the
matter? Don't you blikkel English?"

Jonathan Blair reached out and snapped the switch on the machine.
Putting his head in his hands, he stared down at the top of his desk.

You learned Navajo in six months, he reminded himself fiercely.

You are a highly skilled linguist. What's the matter? Don't you
blikkel English?

* * * * *

He groaned and started searching through his briefcase for the reports
from Psych. Easton must be in