tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Aug 07 04:52:47 2012
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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Bad Klingon in Trek novels (and the like)
'anan naHQun:
> However, Michael A. Martin's use of the language was grating.
> He used the words correctly enough; but he went out of his way to
> explain them in English as well.
>
> It's like watching a program for a pre-schooler where the host says a
> phrase in Spanish, to someone who only speaks Spanish, and then
> translates it into English for them.
Well, it depends if the speaker is explaining it to the listener, or
if the author is explaining it to the reader.
(1) "Shoot that {veQ} out of the skies!", screamed the captain, "by
which I mean, that piece of garbage of a ship."
(2) "Shoot that {veQ} out of the skies!", screamed the captain, using
the Klingon word for garbage.
The first is grating, and out of character (presumably the gunner
knows Klingon). The second is also annoying, but acceptable (you
can't assume the reader knows Klingon), and perhaps even necessary
depending on context (in the above example it's clear that {veQ} has
negative connotations, and perhaps that's all that's needed to be
conveyed, but there are contexts where the meaning won't be clear).
--
De'vID
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