tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Apr 06 12:35:42 2007
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Re: Psalm 23
Alpha Omicron:
> >> mutlha'bej quv parmaq je, jIHeghDI'
> >
> > Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: [KJV]
Voragh:
> > {parmaq} "love, romance" is probably not the word you want; it's often
> > closer to "lust".
Alpha Omicron:
>I'm still stuck with parmaq, don't know what to replace it with. Oh well,
>it was just for practice and I think it worked nicely.
"goodness and mercy" vs. honor/reputation and love/romance?
Is {parmaq} really a suitable reward for trusting in G-d, especially for
Klingons? Pairing {quv} and {batlh} or, better, {quv} and {pop}? Okrand
explains the difference:
Nevertheless, [Maltz] then went on, though a bit begrudgingly, to say
that {quv} was a sort of personal honor, the kind over which, by one's
behavior, one has some control. This sort of honor is earned, can be
bestowed on one, and is associated with reputation, dignity, and respect.
{batlh}, on the other hand, is a grander, more general, more philosophical
concept, associated with integrity, rectitude, scruples, and principles.
Unfortunately, he didn't give examples or elaborate any further. He did
add, however, that neither {quv} nor {batlh} was the same as {pop},
usually translated "reward" but sometimes translated "honor" in the sense
of "token of esteem", that is, formal recognition of an accomplishment
or accomplishments. (HQ 12.3:9)
Perhaps pairing {batlh} "honor" and {lurDech} "tradition works better as
they are both abstract qualities, like goodness and mercy:
jIyIntaHvIs reH mutlha'bej lurDech batlh je ... (?)
Hmm... there is another noun we've overlooked - {pung} "mercy" - which
shows up in a proverb:
pung ghap HoS
Mercy or power. [sic] TKW
It is noteworthy that the conjunction in the Klingon phrase is {ghap}
(either/or), not {joq} (and/or). This implies that one must choose between
mercy and power; they are incompatible. (TKW 119)
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons