tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jul 10 17:04:16 1998

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Re: Transcribing movie soundtracks

On Fri, 10 Jul 1998 16:07:24 -0700 (PDT) Steven Boozer 
<[email protected]> wrote:

> : > <...> yI<chu'>qa'!
> : > (???) ST3
> : > [I couldn't catch the verb, but {yI...qa'} were clear.  Kruge's bridge
> : > crewman pushes a button and the lights come back on.]
> :  
> : > Voragh
> : 
> : I'm relatively certain that is {So'wI' yIchu'Ha'}. He does 
> : pronounce the {H} very harshly, so I could see it being 
> : interpreted as {q}, but to my ear, it is still {H}. 
> 
> That's what I thought at first, {So'wI' yIchu'Ha'}.  But, if you watch the
> scene again, you'll see that Kruge has *already* given that command:
> 
>    (POV: the bridge of the Merchantman)
> 
>      Valkris: qa'vam De' vIje' rIntaH.
>                (I have purchased the Genesis data.)
>      Valkris: HablI', Su': labbeH.
>                (Ready to transmit.)
>      Kruge:   So'wI' yIchu'Ha'!
>                (Disengage cloaking device!)
> 
>    (POV: the bridge of Kruge's ship)
> 
>      Kruge:   <...> yI<chu'>qa'!                                     (?)
>                (no subtitle)
> 	      [bridge crewman pushes button and the lights come back on]
>      Kruge:   De' yIlI' ... DaH!
> 	       (Transmit data. Now!)

Okrand has explained this. There was no subtitle because this 
scene was another shooting of the same scene and the editor 
neglected to edit out this retake of the line {So'wI' 
yIchu'Ha'}. It is the same scene shot from a different angle and 
the editor, who apparently didn't understand Klingon, didn't 
realize that he was keeping in the same line, making it appear 
to be spoken twice. They apparently liked the visual on it and 
just failed to cut the right spot to meld these two shots.
 
>    (POV: the bridge of the Merchantman)
> 
>      Valkris: jabbI'ID pItlh. Qu'vaD lI' net tu'bej.
>                (Transmission completed. You will find it useful.) 
> 
> It's possible that we're just hearing the same line {So'wI' yIchu'Ha'}
> twice, the second time from Kruge's point of view (POV).

I'm sure this is the case.

> They didn't repeat
> any of the English lines in the movie, but they may not have been as careful
> WRT the Klingon, which the director and film editor couldn't understand
> anyway.  You'll notice they didn't add a subtitle to this, so the editor
> probably considered it a part of the background & sound effects.

ba'. We are so frequently misunderstood.

> : Understanding the movie soundtracks is a real challenge. I know 
> : I have made mistakes interpreting things. I still have no clue 
> : what the officer was saying when he spread out the map (or 
> : whatever paper it was) on the desk in ST6. It sounded like 
> : somethingwaWAwawa...
> :
> : charghwI'
> 
> Well, here's my working version of that scene:
> 
>    (War council on Kronos One after Gorkon's assassination)
> 
>      Kerla:   DIHIvlaHtaHvIS DaH DIHIvnIS
> 	       (Attack them now, while we still can!)
>      Khmarr:  DIHIvbej [pagh] qo'chajDaq toy'wI''a' DImoj              (sic)
>                (Attack or be slaves in their world.)
>      Grokh:   QaplaH <pla'> pe'vIl <Qapla' ghobe' laH'a'>               (??)
>                (We can take whole by force, what they propose to divide.)
>      Azetbur: ghu'maj Dayajbe'law' Sa'
> 	       (not subtitled)
>   	       {You don't seem to grasp our situation, General.} (novel)
>      Azetbur: notlh veS 'a toH manotlhchoH <chenmoH>                    (??)
> 	       (War is obsolete, General...as we are in danger of becoming.)
>      	       {War is...obsolete. As we are in danger of becoming.} (novel)
>      Kerla:   QamvIS Hegh qaq law' torvIS yIn qaq puS
> 	       (Better to die on our feet than live on our knees.)
>      Azetbur: 'e' neHbe' vavwI' 
> 	       (That wasn't what my father wanted.)
> 
> Since we'll never see copies of the shooting scripts, we may never know.

I'll try to pull out the video and look at it again. Nice work, 
though I'm sure I heard a "waWAwa" in there, somewhere, while 
one of them spread out some large piece of paper on the table.
 
> Voragh                          "Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
> Ca'Non Master of the Klingons    lis est."        - Horace, Ars Poetica

charghwI'

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