Rothfussians discussion

My new project at work has had me working with various languages and translations. I began playing around with the word 'dulator' and seeing what meanings I could tease from it.

Du - French for 'The'
Lator - Hungarian for 'Thief'

Of course, this in no way concludes that whomever calls Kvothe a thief is his first real lover... it is interesting to note, however, that he and Denna joke about him being a thief on multiple occasions. Also, Denna is the girl whose mention causes Kvothe to tell his story to Chronicler.

Thoughts?

Maybe he steals some girls virginity? That's why she calls him that? That's all I got.

Oh, thanks. I was intrigued about what Dulator could mean... It's almost hilarious. I thought that maybe Auri called Kvothe Dulator in Book 3, knowing she has some amazing naming skills... But, if Dulator really means The Thief, then I think Denna fits better. But who knows. Kvothe had stolen princesses to kings...

Well, thinking of it calmly, Kvothe said that his first lover called him Dulator just because she liked the way it sounded, right? So Auri stills fitting...

(Actually desperately trying to fit Devi here in some magic way... I like Devi a lot).

But I think there are more ''evindences'' (extreme '') pointing at Denna. Things like: ''Rob me'' and that... (No idea if Denna says it that way. It's from the first book and I only have the second in English).

In fact, funny thing that Dulator thing...

I couldn't figure it out, just thought maybe Denna classed him as a 'Do Later'.

Re Sweetie: that really clears so much up. :)

Sweetie wrote: "I couldn't figure it out, just thought maybe Denna classed him as a 'Do Later'."

Okay, that is hilarious!

Well, 'du' means "some" or "of" in French, so it'd be a *really* rough stretch for "the" thief.

I like the "do later" theory! *chuckles* Props for that one :)

Karen wrote: "Well, 'du' means "some" or "of" in French, so it'd be a *really* rough stretch for "the" thief.

I like the "do later" theory! *chuckles* Props for that one :)"

I have the audio version so sometimes I miss the spelling. But, you know how the ear just catches something.

@7 (Karen):

Bah! I understand it can be a contraction of "de l'", meaning 'of the' as well... Or, in translating to a word that shows possession via 's (John's), it can be translated as 'the'.

Ex:
Ce lancement marque un tournant dans la stratégie du groupe.

Here, the meaning of 'du' can be said to be 'the' if we translate the sentence the following way: This launch marks a turning point in the group's strategy.

So, yes, stretch indeed, but it's the closest thing I've seen to an explanation of 'dulator' that makes any sort of contextual sense!

@Jared, whoa, I just re-read my message, and it came across really nitpicky!!! Sorry for that!! It's definitely "of" and then the direct object complement; in your sentence, it would be "the strategy of the group".

Anyways, I like your catch on the word 'lator' and definitely think Rothfuss made a deliberate word choice with that one :)

@Karen, no no, you're the one who is right. I was relying on Google Translate's first option for 'du'. It's a real stretch, as you said. 'Lator' is still 'thief', however, and while I admit this concludes nothing, it certainly is suggestive.

Let us also bare in mind that, 'Dulator', may not actually be what his lover called him. Kvothe has been known to HEAR true names when something else was said. My first and only example is when the name of his sword is told to him, and he hears it differently and decides there and then that the true name is the one he heard, not what he was told.

That's a bit different from how he hears it's 'true' name. He hears the name and alters the pronunciation of it, it isn't like when Elxa Dal says 'Fire' and he is actually saying it's name but all K hears is Fire.

We don't know if Caesura is it's true name. And I doubt it, he has a gift for naming but I think that's one step short of truly naming it...if that makes sense? This post has gotten a bit convoluted! LOL

But you do have a point. I'd reference the Auri thing as well.

And the horse that he names without even knowing that it was painted. Keth something I believe.

Keth-Selhan! Good point too.