tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Aug 12 11:15:43 1994

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Re: chu'wi' jIH



Randallvo':

> nuqneH!

nuqneH, and welcome!  naDev bIQuch 'e' vItul.

> I'm new to this list and this is my first stab at writing something in 
> {tlhIngan Hol}.  This may be a little too ambitious for a newby, but as 
> they say: No guts, no glory.

bISuvbe'chugh, vaj batlh bIHeghlaHbe!

> cheghbe'bogh poHDaq yIQongtaHbe' 'a yIQamchoH
> 'ej jaj tlhIv yInaDHa', ghop HoS yIlo'taHvIS.

If you want {poH} to be the head of the relative clause 
{cheghbe'bogh}, then it can't have the {-Daq} suffix on it.  Locatives 
are not subjects or objects (TKD 3.3.5).
 
Boy, that first sentence sure is a whopper.  The problem in the 
translation is the verb "sleep."  In English, you're using a verb plus 
a particle to construct a complex meaning, "sleep away," which means 
more than the meanings of the two words themselves.  {Qong} just 
doesn't carry that meaning.  You need to play with it more, first by 
exploring what the original English means.  Something like, {poH nI' 
yIQongbe'}.

The rest, I find no fault with, yet I am compelled to make a 
suggestion.  There needs to be more of a connection between your last 
two sentences, {jaj tlhIv yInaDHa'} and {ghop HoS yIlo'taHvIS}.  As 
it stands, they just follow each other, and it's not clear your using 
the {ghop HoS} for the purpose of "discommending the insubordinate 
day." (Nice use of vocabulary!!).  Thus, you might add {-meH}: {jaj 
tlhIv yInaDHa'meH}.

> In case that came out as total gibberish, what I'm trying to say is:
> "Sleep not away the unreturning time,
> but arise and reproach the insolent daylight with a steady hand."

Not total gibberish, as it turns out.  One grammatical point, one 
stylistic one.  I'd say, excellent for your first post!  (Now, why 
don't you tell us about yourself?)  {{:)
 
> I suppose I need a cool Klingon handle.  My name is Randall which means 
> "shield-wolf",  so maybe... yoDtargh.  A targh is a vaguely wolf-like 
> critter, isn't it?

Not all names have to mean something (guess I'm sounding 
hypocrytical?)  If you're happy with the name yoDtargh, cool.

> yoDtargh

--Holtej, Beginner's Grammarian



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