tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 17 12:52:13 1994
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Re: I shouldn't ask...
On Mon, 15 Aug 1994, Mark E. Shoulson wrote:
> >From: Joel Anderson <[email protected]>
> >Date: Fri, 12 Aug 1994 14:33:28 -0500
>
> >Is there a phrase yet for "Bible" yet? As a KBTP participant I'll be
> >particularly embarrassed if *everyone* knows it is something or other...
>
> >"joH'a' paq" occurs to me, unless you want to say some goofy
> >construction like "paqmeypaq"?
>
> "joH'a' paq" seems reasonable, I suppose. "paqmeypaq" is silly; sounds
> more like a library catalogue. This business of "book of books" meaning
> some sort of superlative book is very idiomatic (and not even common
> English idiom either).
I've also seen {paq'a'}, although this appears ironic
to me since the word "Bible" comes from the Greek "biblia"
meaning "the little books". (After all, the Bible is an
anthology.) Perhaps you could use {lay'ghach'a' paq}, the "book of the
covenant" or "testament" as in {lay'ghach'a'paq chu'}, "the New Testament"
and {lay'ghach'a'paq ngo'}, "the Old Testament". You could also refer to
the Torah or the Pentateuch as {vegh paq'a'mey}.
>lalDanpaq is probably best, though; less
> judgemental...
The problem with this is that it does not distinguish the Bible from any
other religious work, e.g. the Koran, the Rig Veda, etc.
> though charghwI''s "wIch'a'paq" is, as advertised, awfully
> appropriate (from a Klingon's perspective, at any rate), if unpleasant to
> some (this from a practising Jew! Heh).
Personally, I'd like to see a direct translation without any superfluous
editorialization reflecting the beliefs (or lack therof) of the
translator, especially since I've never seen a codified set of
Klingon religious beliefs or any canonical evidence of what Klingons
believe, or what their actual attitude towards "alien" religions are.
Although it can be inferred from the tlhIngan Hol vocabulary that
Klingons have, or once had, some kind of religion (c.f. QI'tu', ghe''or,
veqlargh). To superimpose some kind of foregone conclusion on the
contents of the work by labeling it a "myth" calls into question the
objectivity of the translator, and therefore the accuracy of the
translation. After all, isn't accuracy one of the Ideals of Klingon speech.
> ~mark
jIrIn,
yoDtargh