tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jan 02 21:55:49 1998

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Re: KLBC: Trying to translate qIDHom

jIghItlh 'ej ghItlh Qov:

>}DaH maQoch, Qov. The pun is that SuD can mean "They are green" and >also
>}"They take chances". <Doq'a' SuvwI'? ghobe', SuD!>
>
>But the other half of the pun is missing. This joke started to be funny
>about the tenth time I heard it. Now it's hysterical.

When I first heard Power Klingon - which I haven't seen since I moved a few
years ago, and am particularly upset since MO signed my copy - that joke
made no sense. I still loved it. It had, as you would (and did) say, a
surreal humor. Once I caught the pun, I started digging for what could be
the pun for <Doq> - there is none. And I have come to realize there isn't a
need for one. In fact, the joke would be lss funny (to me) if there was a
<Doq> pun. It would be a truism, maybe, and witty for sure, but not that
funny. It's the imbalance of the pun that makes us laugh. Before I saw it,
it was just a goofy, silly line. Now it's a great joke.

I might add that it's harder than I thought it would be to come up with good
puns in Klingon. (Some might say too hard, judging from my latest
attempts...) The <Quch Quch> "happy forehead" pun is already trite, and
there are scarce opportunities for others. Plus, placing the pun at the end
of the joke is crucial - as is setting it up smoothly in proper Klingon, not
"Klinglish". Plus, try to find one the most skilled speakers won't see
coming a <qelI'qam> ahead! Not trying to get oohs and aahs, just sharing an
observation.

MO obviously has a sense of humor - KGT is proof of that. I'd like to see
more of his jokes - not cognate-humor, but real jokes.

>}Not to say the English equivalent is a real knee-slapper, but the point is
>}some jokes translate, some don't. My Klingon joke is meaningless in
>English.
>
>I think it has a sort of surreal humour. I think I'll tell it at the next
>party I attend, then shrug and explain that it must have lost something in
>translation.

If any friends of mine are attendance, simply tell them I wrote it. They'll
nod in agreement/compassion.

Qermaq

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