tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jan 20 14:51:12 1998
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Re: KLBC: mu'tlheghmey
- From: Qov <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: KLBC: mu'tlheghmey
- Date: Tue, 20 Jan 1998 14:50:23 -0800
At 08:51 98-01-20 -0800, Peter Schuller wrote:
}I thought I'd take a shot at translating a few sentences (only
}three actually :). I was wondering if they're correct? They're not
}complicated, but I guess I better start off easy.
majQa'. Well chosen sentences, and good thinking. I can give you maximum
help when you don't try to tackle too much. I see that you know how to use
the KLBC, so I'll skip the hi-I'm-Qov-welcome-to-the-list bit (but you're
still welcome) and get to work.
}DujHommeyraj bIQaw'
}"You destroyed your little ships!" (presens actually I know)
Have another look at the prefix table on p. 33. You may be reading it
incorrectly. The subject AND object of the verb must be represented in the
prefix. You have the "you" partly right, but you say you are talking to
"presens" -- I assume that's a typo for "persons" -- so you need the you
(plural) prefix appropriate for third person plural object. That's {bo-},
found in the bottom right hand corner of the chart.
Now {DujHommeyraj}. Understand that a {DujHom} is not the same as "little
ship," it is an order of magnitude smaller, or less significant than a ship.
"Little ships" might be a translation, but mini-transport or shuttle or
something might be more specific. {Dujmeyraj mach} is perfectly fine for
"little ships." Good suffix ordering.
}tera' He yIcher
}"Set a course for Earth!"
"Establish an Earth course." No grammatical problems. Very good. We've
heard a Klingon order a course set in canon, and this wasn't how he did it,
but that doesn't mean this isn't valid, too.
}pa'Daq Suqet puqmey
}"Children are running around the room."
}("mey" is intentional, as opposed to "pu'", to express some
}equivalent of "around")
{Suqet} means you (plural) are running. {puqmey} is a third person subject.
(If you ever have difficulty figuring out 1st/2nd/3rd, just consider what
pronoun you would replace it with: I, you, he, they, etc. and look up the
pronoun in the table). Here you use the 0 (zero) prefix, at the bottom left
corner of the table.
So you need simply: {pa'Daq qet puqmey}
And yes, that does conjure up images of Christmas with the in-laws. :)
Qov [email protected]
Beginners' Grammarian