tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Aug 12 00:11:48 1996

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Re: translation



  From: [email protected] (Marc Hardy) wrote (Subject: translation):-

> ... How may I translate this sentence?: "Destroying the Federation is our
> Honour." I've tried like this, but I think it's not correct: "Qaw' DIvI'
> batlh maH" ...

  {Qaw' DIvI'} <would> be correct if all verbs X (including {Qaw'}) could be
used as verbal nouns "the act or condition of X'ing"; but Marc Okrand does not
seem to have committed himself yet to allow or forbid that usage; and it also
mean "the Federation destroys".
  {batlh maH} is in the wrong order for the intended meaning and as it stands
means "we who belong to honour".
  {DIvI' wIQaw' 'e' batlhmaj} = "That we destroy the Federation, is our
honour"; but how to make it clear that the destruction is neither actual nor
likely but merely hypothetical or a wish?
   Would {DIvI' wIQaw'jaj 'e' batlhmaj} be correct or suitable?
  Otherwise, as I said before, it would be useful if Marc revealed an "unreal
or hypothetical" verb suffix like the Ancient Greek "an" or "ken".


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