tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 27 14:47:51 1998
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choQaHpa''a'
- From: "Robyn Stewart" <[email protected]>
- Subject: choQaHpa''a'
- Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 14:44:51 PST
- Organization: NLK Consultants, Inc.
- Priority: normal
Duqtatlh, you're doing pretty well. You're making just enough
mistakes to have some good stuff to learn, without killing yourself.
> tlhIngan Hol jabbI'ID ghom vImuvta'
> I have just joined the Klingon Mailing list
majQa'. pov.
> (I do not know what
> _mailing list_ is in Klingon, so I used _data transmission group_.)
That's *exactly* what most of us call it. It pleases me that you
independantly chose the same thing.
> tlhInganwIj Hol QaQqu'be'
> My Klingon is not good.
Couple problems with this one. First of all, the verb in Klingon
goes before its subject, so you need to start with {QaQqu'be'} "no so
good." Good use of the rovers there to get your meaning across. You
forgot to translate the extra meaning from {-qu'}.
{tlhInganwIj Hol} means "my Klingon's language" or "the language of
my Klingon." If you actually have a Klingon writing this for you,
then that's fine, but I suspect you'd prefer {tlhIngan HolwIj} "my
Klingon language" i.e. "my language of a Klingon." Make sense?
> taghwI' jIH
> I am a begginer.
maj. qay'be. taghnIS Hoch.
> tlhIngan Hol vIghojqangtaH
> I realy want to learn (i actualy wrote: I am realy willing to
> learn.
Actually, you just wrote "I am continuously willing to learn" or "I
am willing to learn (continuously)." You'd need a {-qu'} on the
{-qang} to get the really across. You probably edited your Klingon
without changing the English. I do that too. No problem with the
sentence.
> vIqeqnISlu'
> ) I must practise (I wrote: I have need of practise.)
If {qeq} meant "train (someone else)" this would be the right way to
say, "One must train me." But {qeq} means "train, practice," an
activity you do yourself, so the {-lu'} suffix is incorrect here.
Say {jIqeqnIS}. "I need to practice." Again your translation looks
like you changed your mind without changing the Klingon. Or do I
misunderstand the way you intended this?
> choQaHpa''a'
> Can you help me.
This looks like a look up error. You have two type 9 verb suffixes
on the same verb, and one of them has nothing to do with your
intended meaning. If you are literally asking if I have the
capability to help you, say {choQaHlaH'a'} "are you able to help me?"
If you want to know if I am willing to help you, use {choQaHqang'a'}.
But if you're just plain asking for help, don't use a
circumlocution. Say it straight out. This is Klingon. {HIQaH} "help
me." In Klingon that's not rude or desperate, just straightforward.
And note that the {cho-} form is addressing a single person, not sure
if that was your intention.
> jIHlI'neS, *Duqtatlh*
> Yours, Duqtatlh.
This is the only part where I had no idea what you were saying.
Remember, noun suffixes go on nouns, verb suffixes go on verbs, and
neither go on pronouns, unless the pronoun happens to be acting like
a verb. In English, "yours" as a letter closing is a short form of
what was once a sentence like "I remain your obedient servant" or "I
am ever your friend." Klingon has neither the habit of ritual
politeness nor a single word to represent a thing possessed without
specifying it. You could get away with using a closing like {juplI'}
or {ghojwI'lI'} if you really wanted one.
> (In the probable event of my Klingon beings so bad that you cannot
> understand, here is a translation of what I want to say:
> (Dayajchugbe' vImugh'e' SoHmeH)
This was a little ambitious, or maybe you lost your concentration.
Re-read the section on {-meH} and you'll see you have it on the wrong
part of speech, in the wrong part of the sentence, and possibly the
wrong suffix for your meaning. Also spelling on {-chugh}, a rover
after a type 9, a noun suffix on the verb {mugh} and, well, it
doesn't make much sense.
See if you can follow these:
DayajmeH vImughta' - "I have translated it so you will understand
it."
Dayajbe'chugh vImugh - "If you don't understand, I will
translate."
SoHvaD vImughta' - "For your sake, I have translated it."
- Qov