tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Dec 16 18:51:15 1993
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Re: Project Shakespeare
- From: [email protected] (Nick NICHOLAS)
- Subject: Re: Project Shakespeare
- Date: Fri, 17 Dec 93 13:39:24 EDT
- In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>; from "Will Martin" at Dec 16, 93 6:28 pm
batlh choja', Will Martin quv:
= "Brush.... Up.... ya Shakespeare...."
= I'm game.
Excellent! I look forward to seeing your writings! As an aside, the project
will need a coordinator, and because I'm not on your continent, I don't
think it can be me. At least, I can't be the contact address. I'd love
to have the editorship, but I needn't be too greedy. I hope I haven't
stolen your thunder overmuch, Lawrence; do you want the job?
The interesting question is, does this displace the Bible work? I don't
think it needs to; translating the Bible is probably not as problematic
as translating Shakespeare (unless you perform some miracles with the
original text of the Psalms or the Epistles, but most translators don't
bother), and there's a well established tradition of Bible translation,
which means the would-be translator has access to a lot of literature on
the subject. On the other hand, we now know well that not all Klingonists
are enthused about Bible translation; so having two simultaneous translation
projects probably makes the most sense.
= Still, we will lose the magic of phrases like, "hoist by their own
=petard," which has nothing to do with having a tow hook lift them by their
=nether regions, but instead literally means they were blown up by their own
=land mine. Translate that into Klingon and then back into English, and it
=does not become more funny or interesting.
luQaw'pu' so'wi' jorwi'chaj: "They were blown up by their own landmine
[lit: cloaked explosive]". Juxtapose this against the original "petard",
and you think you won't get a chuckle? I think you will!
= And I bet we're still stuck with "taH pagh taHbe'"... It IS cannon,
=after all.
Yes, we are. God, there's going to be a *stampede* of people wanting to
translate that speech!
Oh, and in my proposals, I mentioned ghItlhtaq for "pen". I meant to say
ghItlhtaj: manuscript-knife.
--
***
"Relax." -- "yIleS." [Three seconds pause.] "Stop Relaxing!" -- "yIleSHa'!"
--- the Conversational Klingon tape.
Nick "I am not a Klingon. Much." Nicholas. [email protected]
nIchyon jIH. nIchyon SoHbe'. nIchyon ghaHbe'. nIchyon tlhIHbe'. nIchyon jIHqu'.