tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jul 14 10:50:40 2003
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Re: once upon a time...
- From: qaS ngal-qaS <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: once upon a time...
- Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 10:01:27 -0500
how about something akin to "some time past", "some time ago", "it is
told/said", or the classic Fremen story-starter (for the Dune fans in the
crowd) , with a slight deviation due to culture: "Thus go the ancient
words..." ?
As a storyteller/writer myself, I've found that it doesn't matter how
you start a story, as long as it's bound in as much mystery and grandeur
as the story itself. A mountain man's story could start "Long time
back...", while a purely informational anectdote could begin with "Once,
wihle I was driving to work..."
The "classic" opening of "Once upon a time" is really limited to
European fairy tales, to be brutally honest, specifically those
attributed to the Brothers Grimm. I've heard Asian legends, native
american myths, Nordic stories of the gods, and Egyptian tales that have
had such expositions as "When Turtle was young" (referencing the turtle
who holds the world on his back), "When Ra had spoken thus: (insert
quotation here)", and "Some time, After the birth of Odin, but before he
gave his eye for the writings..." All clearly set a vague period for the
story's beginning. Hope my ungodly long-winded answer may be of some
service in helping to fashion a decidedly Klingon way to begin such tales
(If they would use one, Klingons being as direct as they are.)
--Kash
On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 12:56:53 +0200 Quvar valer (Lieven) <[email protected]>
writes:
> How does one start a story?
>
> We certainly can't use {wa'logh}, since the expression "once upon a
> time" seems to have an idiomatic
> use. A Klingon will understand it only literally: "once on the
> time-period"...
>
> I found
> {nuja' tlhIngan wIch ja'wI'pu'?}
> "According to Klingon legend?"
>
> But what if it's not a Klingon legend?
>
> ideas?
>
> Quvar.
>
>
>
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