tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Aug 16 11:24:20 1996
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Re: PK opening scene question
>Date: Fri, 16 Aug 1996 04:01:42 -0700
>From: "Mark J. Reed" <[email protected]>
>> Bartender: Hurry up! Buy or die! You have insulted my honor, Terran;
>> you won't preserve your life.
>Given that we have {bIjeghbe'chugh vaj bIHegh} for "Surrender or die!",
>"Buy or die!" is a valid translation here. But I think it comes off
>sloganish, whereas the intent of the Klingon on the tape is quite
>literal and personally directed at the Terran. I think a literal "If
>you don't buy, then you will die." conveys the feeling better.
I thought the sloganish meaning was better. The Klingon is trying to get
this guy to buckle down and act like a proper customer, so he's throwing
out the usual line he yells to customers who wait too long (even Klingons.
If Klingons didn't need to be reminded of this now and then, the expression
probably wouldn't have come into existence).
~mark