tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Nov 18 18:45:52 1999
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RE: KLBC Help with a word...
- From: "Andeen, Eric" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: KLBC Help with a word...
- Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 19:47:04 -0700
jatlh juDmoS:
>
> I got no response whatsoever regarding this attempt at
> translating, so I'm repeating it.
>
> bIQtIq choHtaH rur najta'wI'. bIQtIq ghochDaq ghoSnISbogh
> neH Duj ghaH najwI'.
> bIQtIqDaq ratlhvIS bIQ vaj DujwIj vIQapmoH.
>
> Does this make sense, or am I off the wall entirely ?
> Sorry for the repost, but I left something out...
>
> I'll assume that the reason was that it is so convoluted or
> so far wrong as to be non-sensical. For that reason, I'll
> give the original English. It's from a Garth Brooks song,
> and goes :
>
> A dream is like a river, ever-changing as it flows. And the
> dreamer's just a vessel that must follow where it goes.
> I will sail my vessel until the river runs dry.
<choH> is not a verb which "describes a state or qualtiy", so it cannot act
like and adjective and go afer the noun. Even if it could, the only suffixes
allowed are <-qu'>, <-be'>, and <-Ha'>, so the <-taH> would not work.
Fortunately, this can all be solved with a <-bogh> clause:
choHtaHbogh bIQtIq rur ...
Another problem is <najta'wI'>. The only thing this can mean is "A person
(or maybe a thing) which has (intentionally) dreamed". <-wI'> takes the
subject of the verb and makes it into a noun, much like the English "-er".
You instead have to rephrase this. Here is my suggestion:
najlu'DI', choHtaHbogh bIQtIq rur wanI'.
The second sentence is pretty close, but kind of awkward. <ghoS> is the
perfect verb here, but I think the <ghochDaq> is extraneous: if you <ghoS> a
river, you will most certainly wind up at where the river "goes". Also, the
<neH> should go after <Duj> rather than <ghoS>. You also need an <-'e'> on
<najwI'>.
'ej bIQtIq ghoSnISbogh Duj neH ghaH najwI''e'.
For the last sentence, <bIQtIqDaq ratlhtaHvIS bIQ> is literally OK for
"until the river runs dry", but it's just doesn't sound right. I would go
with either <vIHtaHvIS bIQtIq bIQ> or even better <taHtaHvIS bIQtIq>. The
<vaj> is a little out of place, and the <DujwIj vIQapmoH> just doesn't work
at all. I would have to go with something like <jIlengbe'choHQo'>.
taHtaHvIS bIQtIq jIlengbe'choHQo'.
Keep in mind, though, that I do NOT have the sensibilities of a tlhIngan
Hatlh bomwI' (groans accepted and encouraged), and even if I did, I would
take at a few days to a fair translation of the lyrics of a country song.
While you're learning, it's much better to stick to more straightforward
prose.
pagh
Beginners' Grammarian
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