tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Oct 30 17:35:34 1996

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RE: KLBC First attempt

jatlh Adrian K (HurghwI'):

>  ghobe'! wovqo' rapbogh <<Hurgh>> vIHech jIH.
>  Tell me if this is correct Klingon.
>  TKI: NO! I intended the "Hurgh" which is the same as "unbright."

You first attempt, and mine (as BG)!

Ohhh, you've tried something tricky here.  It was a good try, though.  Let me 
see if I can get you started.

There is no word {wovqo'}.  {wov} is a verb meaning "be light, bright."  {qo'} 
is a noun meaning "world."  There is a verb suffix {-Qo'} (with a capital 
{Q}), but it means "don't!" (for a command) or "won't, refuse to" (for a 
statement), and is not what you're looking for.  Try {-Ha'} (see TKD 47-48), 
which means "undo."  It indicates that you're talking about the opposite of 
the verb.  "Unbright" would be {wovHa'}.

Now, the problem here is that {rap} probably doesn't take an object.  It's 
subjects are probably always plural and the same as each other.  The meaning 
of {rap} is "be the same," not "be the same as."

Further, {Hech} means "intend, mean to," as in, "I intend to walk home."  It 
is *not* used in the sense of "I meant 'unbright.'"    So, you didn't "intend 
'be dark,'" you intended to *say* "be dark."

<Hurgh> jIjatlh 'e' vIHech.
"I intended to say {Hurgh}."

This is getting into complicated {'e'} sentences, and controversial {jatlh} 
stuff.  Let me suggest two things.  First, I'll not get too deeply into that 
now, but if you want me to, just say so.  Right now, I'll suggest a sentence, 
and you can try to puzzle it out if you like (I'm adding an extra {-bej} 
suffix for emphasis):

<Hurgh> jIjatlh 'e' vIHechbej.  rap <Hurgh> <wovHa'> je.
"I definitely intended to say {Hurgh}.  {Hurgh} and {wovHa'} are the same."

Secondly, for a simpler sentence, you could recast.  Put the sentence in terms 
you know how to say.  The difference between the {Hurgh} you meant and the 
{Hurgh} r'Hul was teasing you with is that the first is a verb and the second 
is a noun.  You could easily make your point by simply saying

wotna' 'oH <Hurgh>wIj'e'.
"My {Hurgh} was definitely a verb."

It kinda looks funny putting suffixes on quoted words like this, but it is 
done regularly and understandably all the time on the list!

If you'd like me to go into detail on my first sentence, feel free to ask!

SuStel
Stardate 96832.2

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