tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Dec 09 13:29:20 1998
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Klingon Bird of Prey (KBP) poster: THE TEXT!
: > HIvtaHvIS toQDuj cha'vatlh wejmaH Soch vI' vagh chorgh 'uj 'ab 'oH
: > Attack Formation Height: 82.75 M
:
: Interesting that he used the explicit {'oH}. ram 'ach Daj.
Sort of a resumptive pronoun. Perhaps he felt one was need because the main
verb {'ab} was so far away from the dependent clause with it's subject,
separated by a string of numbers. I rather like the way it sounds.
: > Hong boq chuyDaH: loS
: > Impulse Fusion Thrusters - 4
:
: Interesting punctuation. Holding closer to the literal
: translation than he typically does. I would have expected the
: number to come first.
Well, it's a check-off list of components on a labelled drawing, after all.
: > muDDaq 'eDSeHcha lulaQlu'bogh: jav
: > Atmosperic Take-Off/Landing Thursters - 6
:
: {'eDSeHcha} is obviously a new word, the singular form and not
: an implied plural, since {laQlu'} gets {lu-} in front of it. In
: other words, if it were a word which implied plurality, it would
: be grammatically singular and he would not have used {lu-}.
"retro-rockets"? As to plurality, note that there are six of them, perhaps
fired individually. Compare {lolSeHcha} "attitude control thrusters", and
chuyDaH yIlaQ
Fire the thrusters! TKD
chuyDaH yIchu'
Engage thrusters! ST6 (unclear on tape)
: And I assume you meant "thrusters" and not "thursters". I guess
: there still are some typos in there...
Yes, "thrusters." You can see why I don't make my living as a typist.
: > pIvchem lIngwI' DaHmey: cha'
: > Warp Field Generation Arrays - 2
:
: DaH = array. Another new word. Also, {pIvchem} follows in the
: footsteps of {pIvghor} and {pIvlob} and does not imply that "the
: field is healthy".
Not really: {nISwI' DaH} "disruptor banks", pu'DaH "phaser banks", and
possibly {chuyDaH} "thrusters" (as opposed to a single large rocket).
Larger and more powerful disruptors are mounted on the ship, laid
out as {nISwI' DaH} or disruptor banks... The more general term {pu'},
phaser, may also apply to the Klingon disruptor, but it is used just
as often to refer to the Romulan disruptor, Federation phaser, and
other similar devices. Since the word is short, {pu'} is heard
frequently--even more frequently than nISwI'--especially in the
throes of combat, in such formations as ... {pu'DaH} (phaser banks)
(KGT p.56)
: > 1. So'wI' DaH
: > Cloak Array
:
: Confirmation on {DaH} as "array".
Apparently the assemblage of cloaking shield generators arranged in a ring
around the nose of the bridge section.
A bank or array is a group of separate or identical devices operating as a
unit
- like a missile battery or those huge banks of lights you see in outdoor
sports stadiums for night games. In this case, it is a group of
interconnected
warp field generators. Hmmm... {De'wI' DaH} might now be a good translation
for a LAN, or local area network of shared computers.
: > nIn: bIQSIp 'ugh
: > Fuel - Deuterium Isotope
:
: Heavy water gas. Apparently hydrogen. Daj.
{bIQSIp 'ugh} "heavy hydrogen" = deuterium (i.e. H2O2, "heavy water"). We can
now add {bIQSIp} "hydrogen" to {voQSIp} "nitrogen" and {yInSIp} "oxygen" from
S27.
: > wey jolpat: wa' (jav ghotpu')
: > Personnel Transporter - 1 (6 Man)
:
: This discourages one from interpreting {wey} as specifying any
: given number of men, unless you consider 6 to be that number. Do
: six men make a "company"?
{wey} is a company in the sense of the entire crew, i.e. the ship's company.
Possibly not an infantry unit, like squad or division. We'd need more
texts to
know for sure.
A ship's full complement of personnel, crew plus officers, is
called a {wey}, perhaps best translated as "company". (KGT p50)
: > QeD patmey noch patmey je
: > Science and Remote Sensing Systems
:
: He ignored the word "remote". Daj.
:
: > chuq'a'
: > long range
"science systems and sensor systems". I guess Klingons aren't particularly
interested in having close-range sensors on a warship, just the long-range
ones
that can warn you about an approching enemy.
: > Qum patmey
: > Communications Systems
:
: Before I concede losing ANOTHER argument, I'll point out that
: this looks a whole lot like an abbridged {QummeH patmey} to me.
: When it is a technical term hanging in space like this, it is
: not really possible to know if this is a generic nominal use of
: {Qum} or if it is simply part of a fossilized name (kept as a
: separate word, at least).
:
: > 2. Qum De'wI'
: > Communications Computer
:
: Second example of {Qum} either as noun or as abbridged {QummeH}.
: It would be nice to get a clear definition from Okrand.
:
: > 5. Qum SeHlaw
: > Communications Console
:
: Again, QummeH/noun?
Three examples of {Qum} "communications" as a noun ... four, counting {QumpIn}
"communications officer". Conceed, charghwI'!
: > Hung buv rav: patlh Hut
: > Classified Level 9 and Above
:
: Most curious. "Security classification floor: Level 9." No
: mention of "and Above". Not enough context here to really
: understand this whole example.
I took {rav} "floor" to be "minimum" - i.e. you need a minimum security
classification (Hung buv) of Level 9 (patlh Hut) or above to know about the
ship's computer systems. I.e. your clearance has to be above the Level 9
floor, or "threshold" as we might say in English.
: > tlhIngan toQDuj 'ey'mey tetlh
: > Klingon Bird of Prey Technical Callouts
:
: New word for "callout". Of course, when you call out, what sound
: do you make, eh?
ghuy'cha'!!! Sorry, that should be {'ay'mey}. Even after I proofread it
three
times, errors got by me. I guess I was in a bit of a rush to get this out,
after learning about the poster over two weeks ago and waiting for it to come
mail order.
It's a "parts list". Again, an equivalent translation, not an exact one.
Still, it would have made a nice pun.
: > 7. 'otlh peng baHjan
: > Photon Torpedo Launcher
:
: New word {baHjan}, showing that he, unlike us, can combine a
: verb and noun to make a new noun.
Don't you want to see this as an abbreviated *{baHmeH jan}?
: > 8. peng baHjan tuj ghImwI'
: > Heat Exhaust for Torpedo Launcher
:
: I think I just found the mistake voragh was talking about.
: Unless, of course, this device gets rid of heat via political
: maneuverings.
Full marks. go to the head of the class.
: > 9. qoD QutlhwI' ngaDmoHwI'
: > Inner Support Stabilizer
:
: We get a new word for non-military support.
This refers to those large shock absorber like supports running from floor to
ceiling flanking the captain's chair on the bridge.
: > 12. Soj polmeH pa'
: > Food Storage
:
: No replicators HERE.
yIntaHbogh qagh jablu'DI' reH nIvqu' qagh
Gagh is always best when served live. (TKW)
And in DS9 "Soldiers of the Empire" we learned that even stale {boqrat chej
Qevlu'pu'bogh} "stewed bokrat liver" was acceptable. No one (not even Jadzia)
suggested a replicator. Also, no one got a choice what they wanted to eat, it
was either liver or go hungry.
: > 14. cha'puj pa'
: > Dilithium Chamber
:
: {pa'} used for non-person-sized chambers.
Probably right, though it looks person-sized on the poster to me, perhaps
large
enough for the engineer to enter.
: > 15. De'wI' SoSbor'a'
: > Main Computer Core
:
: Do I see a play on "motherboard"?
Bingo! I *knew* there was a pun there.
: > 37. telDaq wovmoHwI'mey
: > Wing Lights
:
: New term for "lights". Perhaps this distinguishes between lights
: on a Christmas ornament, intended to be seen {wovwI'} and lights
: which serve to illuminate something ELSE (wovmoHwI'}.
Qapqu' wovmoHbogh janHommey!
It even has working lights! (Hallmark)
On the poster, these are the forward running lights mounted at the point where
the wings join the main hull. {wovmoHwI'} seems to be the light emitter
assembly, while {wovmoHbogh janHom} may refer to the little lightbulbs on the
ornament. Or, Okrand forgot the line in the commercial.
: > 39. muD ngeb SeHwI' pat
: > Atmospheric Control System
:
: Interesting that they consider internal atmosphere to be fake.
"artificial air" - I like it, given the Klingons' preference for things
natural.
: > 40. De'wI' Qulpa'
: > Computer Research Lab
:
: Yet another verb becomes part of a polysyllabic noun.
In light of your argument re {Qum}, why don't you see this as an abbreviated
{*QulmeH pa'}?
: > Voragh
: > Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
:
: charghwI' 'utlh
_________________________________________________________________________
Voragh "Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons lis est." Horace (Ars Poetica)