tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun May 14 20:48:52 2000
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Translation
Joseph L. Cosgriff wrote:
> Can anyone tell me how to translate -
>
> Dark Son or Son of Darkness
De'vID:
: My first reaction was /puq Hurgh/, but this is a bad idea.
Good call, since "dark son" is actually {puqloD Hurgh}, while {puq Hurgh}
is "dark child".
: There is a homophony in Klingon between /Hurgh/ "be dark",
: and /Hurgh/ "pickle (cucumber)". So /puq Hurgh/ could
: mean either "dark son", or "son's cucumber".
So you would never use {Hurgh} "be dark"? Due to the homophony, the pickle
option is almost always an option--and almost always that option is
gibberish. Klingon is full of homophones that confuse or amuse beginners.
What the experienced Klingonist (and probably any native speakers) does is
to filter out meanings that make no sense in a given context. Unless, of
course, you're listening to a comic making a pun.
: What do you mean by "dark"? You could go for /puq qIj/,
: "black son". Maybe /puq HuvHa'/ "obstructed/hidden son"?
: Maybe /puq So'lu'bogh/, "son who is hidden"?
Interesting options but, again, the Klingon word for "son" is {puqloD} -
"man-child" as it were. Note that due to the homophony that so troubles
De'vID, {puqloD} could also be misinterpreted in speech (if not writing) as
"child's man". But then the experienced Klingon speaker knows to filter
out that option.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons