tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Oct 09 12:37:29 2006
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: KLBC: Translating Dilbert
ter'eS:
>>Why not just use {SoH} 'you'?
lay'tel:
>Then how to express the interrogative? Intonation? Analogous to {tlha'a
>Hod}'s {'entepray''a'?}? {SoH'a'?} does that, but then it may be adding too
>much. I thought {qatlh?} was a good equivalent of the English.
Voragh:
> > Although {qatlh} "why?" is perfectly fine, what's wrong with
> > intonation? If you insist on adding a suffix, how about combining {'e'}
> > "topic" with intonation: {SoH'e'?} "You (of all people)?!"
lay'tel:
>Mostly because intonation is not a standard way of expressing a question (or
>anything else). Intonation in Klingon grammar is unknown territory.
Ah, now I see. The vast majority of our examples use {-'a'}, a question
word, or {qar'a'} when asking a question. However, there so seem to be a
very few examples with intonation alone:
puhichweej dalegpu ("hinterlands" dialect )
pu'HIchwIj Daleghpu' (Standard dialect)
Have you seen my phaser? PK ({-'a'} omitted. MO's error?)
Kruge: vaj Daleghpu'
"Then you have seen it?" ST3
IIRC Kruge's intonation was more of an ominous statement of fact.
Vixis: tlhIngan ghaH wa' vub'e'.
"One of the hostages is a Klingon."
Klaa: latlh?
"And the others?"
Klaa: 'entepray''a'? qIrq Duj 'oH!
"Enterprise? That's Kirk's ship!" ST5
Here's that bizarre example with {-'a'} on a noun. Perhaps heard during
highly emotional speech, or could it be a trace of Klaa's regional accent
(whatever that might be)?
Chang: narghta'? narghta'.
"Escaped." ST6
You may want to listen to the intonation yourself during this scene with
the warden, but I heard this repeated as "{narghta'?} "He escaped?!
(shocked question) "{narghta'.} "Escaped." (disappointed realization).
Except for the PK example, these are all short 1 or 2 word utterances -
more exclamations than full sentences. Perhaps dropping the {-'a'} is a
form of clipping heard in tense situations. Or else they were all spoken
on the bridge of a warship by military officers, except for the PK
example. Although they weren't in combat, the military setting is exactly
where one would expect to hear Clipped Klingon. I bet you would tend to
hear a lot of it on starships, as part of that terse, military style
soldiers everywhere tend to affect, even when not in actual combat.
But getting back to Dilbert, {SoH, qar'a'?} might be the least controversial.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons