tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 19 14:23:11 1998

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Re: KLBC - mu'tlheghmey *random* vIchenmoH

> roD HIvpa' betleHDaj lev jor'av.
> "Jorev habitually moves his bat'leth from vertical to horizontal
before
> atacking."

I'd have put the explicit subject on the first verb in the sentence,
so you don't have to wait to the end before reaching it.  Be careful
when translating that word order doesn't change or obscure meaning.

By way of example, translate into Klingon:
Kang removes his ring in order to clean his hands.
Mara's grandfather gave her the sword.
Translate into English:
qama' jonqa'chugh matlh wInaD.
waqmey Say'choHmoHchu'mo' janvam vIje'.

> qatlh quHvajlIj Dateqbe'taH?  DaHjaj jeylIjvaD yIchel!
> "Why do you continually not remove your dandruff?  Add it to your
> itinerary today!"

In English (I looked it up because I was confused) an itinerary is a
route taken or planned.  I frown on using it to mean schedule, because
Klingon doesn't use spacial terms to discuss time. 
 
> leSpal HengmeH 'etlh lo'lu'chugh jejHa'qu'nIS.
> "If one uses a blade to finger a leSpal, it needs to be quite dull."

maj.  jejchugh tlhegh pe'ba'.  (Or is it /SIrgh/?  I don't remember.)
 
> jISaHDI' DajatlhmeH QumwI' Dalo'nISbe'.
> "You do not need to use your communicator to speak to me when I 
> am present."

Do you mean /jISaHDI'/?  It's slightly different than /jISaHtaHvIS/. 
Without context you *could* mean either.  Remember that /-DI'/
translates "as soon as" as well as "when."  To check whether you want
/-vIS/ or /-DI'/ try the sentence with "while" and "as soon as" and
see which is closer to your thought.
 
> tujqu'mo' meqleHvam yanmeH Qatlh.
> "This mek'leth is difficult to wield because it is so hot."

qatlh tujchoHpu'?  
 
> ngech voghDaq DIron chu' chuQun.
> "The nobility play the bagpipes somewhere in the valley."

Isn't it ?/choQun/?  mu'mey Qub Dalo'mo' choqaD. :)

> mang SoHbe'mo' ne' Duparlaw' 'ej nIHwI' soHmo'be' je.
> "The yeoman dislikes you because you aren't a soldier, not because 
> you are also a thief."

Careful.  Watch OVS and suffix order.  The logic falls apart in the
second half.  I think you were thinking in English. Try this one again.

> 'ejyo' yaS HoHmeH 'un naQDaj lo' DIjwI'.
> "The painter used his mixing stick to kill the Starfleet officer."

As in the first sentence of this set, the explicit subject (/DIjwI'/)
is in the place it would be if you translated from English, not wrote
in Klingon.  Find a clearer place to put it.
 
>not jInepba'!  jIyuDHa'; ghIt vIrur.
> "Obviously, I never lie!  I am as honest as an axe head."

Nice. The English translation might be misleading to some people. The
V6 /-ba'/ isn't the English adverb "obviously."  It's a statement
about your own certainty about the truth of your sentence.  /-ba'/
indicates that you consider what you are saying to be obvious, but
there is a shade of doubt to rank it below /-bej/.  


==

Qov - Beginners' Grammarian

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