tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Nov 17 09:25:26 2006
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Re: Dragons and ketchup
> >mIq'ey wrote:
> >> {lung malja' yIniSQo' bIngalmo' 'ej bI'eymo' Dutlhejchugh qettlhup}
Voragh:
> >"don't disrupt (interfere with) dragon business because you're chewy and
> >(you're) delicious, if ketchup accompanies you"
> >
> >Clearly I don't recognize this quote!
mIq'ey:
>Sorry. The original quote is :
>
> "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good
> with ketchup."
>
>Since your translation captures exactly what I was trying to express, I
>think I'll count it a success. OTOH I'm open to suggestions if you think
>there are better ways to express any of this in Klingon.
For "meddle" see the slang word {Haq} "intervene in (a situation)" (KGT 151):
The slang term {Haq} developed from the association of surgery
with invasion of the person, hence "intervene". Just as {Haq} in
the nonslang sense of "perform surgery" has negative connotation,
the slang term {Haq} ("intervene") is likewise disparaging, imply-
ing that the intervention was unnecessary and/or that the party
doing the intervening somehow handled the situation badly. Thus,
if one were to say {jagh HIvrup SuvwI' Haqpa' DIvI' qeSwI'} ("The
warrior was prepared to attack the enemy until the Federation
advisor intervened" literally, "The warrior was prepared to attack
the enemy until the Federation advisor performed surgery"), the
implication is that the advice was unnecessary, counterproductive,
or both. The common nonslang term for "intervene" is {mun}.
> >>Since there doesn't seem to be a word for "crunchy",
> >
> >>I had thought to do something with {choptaH}, on the order of "one can
> >>gnaw you",
>
> >{choptaH} "it bites continuously, it keeps on biting"
>
>Rendered "gnaw" at KGT 89. I like the idea of dragons gnawing on human
>bones like Klingons on a {naHnagh}, and I may still go with this now that
>you've acquainted me with KGT 181.
bIlugh. It seems I should have taken my own advice and kept reading KGT
(p.89):
Klingons typically gnaw ({choptaH}--literally, "continue biting")
on the nut until it cracks open, and then they spit out ({tlhIS})
the pieces of shell (occasionally at a nearby diner, as a gesture
of sociability) before chewing and swallowing the rest.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons