tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jan 20 14:03:53 1998

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Re: KLBC: some sentances

'elren writes:

>Here you go, I would have posted these sooner, but my hotmail 
>account has been down for about a day, so I didn't get a chance. 

Yeah, well I'm lazy as dirt so I didn't correct them for two weeks, so we're
more than even. :)

>I hope they are ok.

Of course they are ok.  They are your honest attempt to translate 
some fairly straightforward sentences into Klingon.  They have some 
mistakes in them of course, but if I gave you sentences you could do 
without errors, what would you learn?

>>Qov insults my abilities and my ideas.
>laHmeywIj qechmeywIj je tIch Qov
maj.

>>I am unwilling to follow that woman's instructions exactly.
> be'vetlh paQDI'norgh vIpabqangbe'

You left out the idea of "exactly."  {vIpabqangchu'be'}
Good word choices, though.

>>I alone understand myself. Others do not.
>jIyaj'egh jIH neH. muyajbe' latlhpu'
majQa'

>>Everyone has ideas, and we should respect the ideas of others.
>qechmey ghaj Hoch 'ej latlhpu' qechmey wIvuv

Prefix error.  You need {DI-} to respect plural ideas.  Also, I said 
that we "should" respect them, not that we do.  You need the V2 
suffix {-nIS}. Read about it in the verbs chapter.
{latlhpu' qechmey DIvuvnIS}

>>I am not a fool who translates every word without understanding
>>anything.
>mu'mey mugh qoH 'ej bIH yajbe' 'e' jIHbe'

SAO doesn't work here.  To use the construction {X jIHbe'} to say "I 
am not an X," you need X to be a noun.  Arguably, {'e'} is a pronoun, 
but then you are saying that you are not the action of a fool not 
understanding them.  It was an interesting thing to do, using a real 
Klingon constructionand definitely not translating word for word, but 
it's unlike anything in canon.  I was looking for a relative clause, 
here, and I think you'll agree it's simpler and a closer translation. 
First read about the type 9 suffix {-bogh} in the Verbs chapter.  
Then follow this:

{Hoch mu' mugh qoH} -  "a fool translates every word"
{Hoch mu' mughbogh qoH} - "a fool who translates every word" OR 
"every word which a fool translates"

Watch carefully, this next part ISN'T in TKD, it's only in HolQeD:

{Hoch mu' mughbogh qoH'e'} -  "a fool who translates every word" - 
The {-'e'} suffix ensures that only {qoH} can be interpreted as head 
of the relative clause.

{vay' yajbe' qoH} - "a fool doesn't understand anything"
{vay' yajbe'taHvIS} "while a fool doesn't understand anything"

{vay' yajbe'taHvIS qoH, Hoch mu' mughbogh qoH'e' jIHbe'}
or maybe a recast like:
{qoH jIHbe'.  Hoch mu' vImughtaHbe', vay' vIyajbe'taHvIS.}
would be better.

>>I understand that the same English word can represent many Klingon 
>>words.
> tlhIngan mu'mey law 'oSlaH *English* mu' rap 'e' vIyaj

{mu'mey law'}, not {*law}.  Did I miss that when correcting chasm?

>>Looking at the screen, I see that my computer displays a new 
>message. jIHDaq vInuDvIS QIn chu' cha' De'wI'wIj 'e' vItu'
>(wasn't sure if the 'e' vItu' was needed or not)

The suffix {-vIS} always requires the suffix {-taH}.  Klingon is more
flexible than English here: I had to watch with the English not to create a
dangling participle.  Without the {'e' vItu'} it would say "The computer
displays a new message while I examine the screen."  Acceptable.  I was
thinking of {bej} or {legh}, but {nuD} works.  Depends on whether you glance
at or scrutinize the screen.

>Jumping at shadows, your beloved daughter accidentally pierced her
>finger.

>lughIjvIS QIbmey bong nItlh 'oy puqbe'oylI'

Same note as before on {-vIS}. {'oy'} is hurt, be sore.  {'oy'moH} is hurt,
injure. {DuQ} is stab.  I think that's better for pierce.  As someone else
has pointed out, you've added some interpretation to the "jumping at
shadows," saying that they were scaring her.  I think "jumping at shadows"
is sometimes an idiom in English meaning "easily frightened," and as I gave
you no other context your interpretation is reasonable.  I would have said
{QIbmeymo' SuptaHvIS}.

>The sharp stick she was carrying should be dulled before I give it to
> my son.

>qeng naQ jej 'ach puqloD nobpa' 'oH jejHa'nIS 
>(I don't know if I can get away with this one, but I can't *see*
>anything wrong with it)

"The sharp stick carried, but before it gives the son it should be dull."
Look at the subject and object of each verb you use. Try this one again.

>>Attacked at dawn, the Ferengi troops were contained by the first 
>>squadron of Yiridian warriors.
>
>jajlo' HIv 'ej verengan QaS Sev yIrIDngan SuvwI'pu' wa'DIch nawlogh 

I don't think I had a plan of how to do this one, yours is very good.  It
even preserves the delay in the English of resolving who attacked whom.  It
doesn't add or lose any information from the original.  The only problem is
that it's {nawlogh wa'DIch}.  Ordinal numbers follow the noun.  Oh and you
need {luSev}.  {QaS} is inately plural, maening it's treated as
grammatically singular.

>>Waiting at the door was a beautiful woman. 
>lojmItDaq loS be' 'IH
>(not to happy with this one, don't know why tho)

Nothing wrong with the grammar.  charghwI' is disturbed by the image. In
some context it would be translated with a continuous aspect suffix, if
there were something to imply that the waiting went on through other actions.

>>The woman sent me into extreme panic because she was holding a
>>severed head and I recognized the face.
>
>nach 'uch be' 'ej qab vIghovmo' 'oy' tIn munob

Weak on vocabulary here.  For "sent me into extreme panic" I was looking for
a construction with {lIm}.  Try this one again, and try to get closer to the
original.

>>If I want to translate, I am bloody well going to translate.
>mugh vIneHchugh jImugh jay'

{jImugh vIneHchugh}.  Klingon does not have an infinitive, every verb must
have a prefix indicating its subject and object.  Good use of {jay'}.

>>I enjoy hearing songs and sometimes the ideas of the songs make me
>>reconsider my very life.
>
>bommey vItIv 'ej rut yInwIj munuDmoH bommey qechmey 

Oops, I accidentally gave you a problem I didn't intend here.  I'd evade it
with because.

"I enjoy songs and sometimes the ideas of the songs 

>>If I want to use Klingon to communicate those ideas then I
>>undoubtedly will.
>
>qech QummeH tlhIngan Hol vIlo' vIneHchugh tlhIngan Hol vIlo'bej

Missed "those". Figure out how to put "those" in.

>I hope these are ok, I did them in the early morning, and I have had a
>check over to malke sure spelling and stuff is ok.

Clearly more careful work, shows off your skills more. Fix up the few and
I'll give you more -- just giving myself some breathing room before I make
up more, by lobbing it back at you.




Qov     [email protected]
Beginners' Grammarian

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