tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Sep 12 23:16:21 1994
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Re: Hallmark Commercial
According to [email protected]:
>
> charghwI'vo':
>
> >Actually, common usage is to have the prefix point to the
> >indirect object while an explicit noun expresses the direct
> >object. While years back, I had a hard time with {qajatlh}...
>
> I had completely forgotten about this. It seems very odd, and likely
> something I'd never use. So, for example, if I wanted to say "I am speaking
> Klingon to you," I could come out with {tlhIngan Hol qajatlh}? Seems to go
> against all my gut feelings. What is the source for {qajatlh}? Is it canon,
> or is this a concensus reached on the list here? [I'm not questioning your
> memory or judgment, charghwI', I'm just puzzled].
{qajatlh} was in common usage on this list before I joined it.
It goes against my gut feelings as well, but there are
cononical examples (which I can't pull up just now) to
reinforce this interpretation. Yes, you could say {tlhIngan Hol
qajatlh} and most folks here on the list would understand you
to be saying, "I speak Klingon language with you." I'm not sure
if Krankor or Okrand used this construction first, but I know
that Okrand has used it since.
> >> It even has working lights!
> >> Qapqu' wovpu' ........ Hovmey
> >
> >Could that have been {Qapqu' wovqu' Hovmey}?...
>
> There's another word missing from the line, which I just cannot discern.
> Upon further listening and reflection, I can offer this additional
> information. The Klingon says {Qapqu'}, and then a long-enough pause to
> consider it an independent sentence: "It (emphatic) works!" (perhaps "they
> work!" ). Then, what *sounds* like {wovpu' noch'a' Hovmey} (and I must
> emphasize, that {noch'a'} is nearly impossible to hear; I went through the
> lexicon (AKD) searching for a possible match to what he said). I've listened
> to it around 30 times, charghwI', and I am certain he said {wovpu'} and not
> {wovqu'}.
I trust your judgement on this. I was just asking if it could
have been {-qu'} instead of {-pu'} and knowing that you were
specifically listening for this difference, you heard {-pu'} is
enough for me. My TV is good only for VCR at this point, since
the FCC shut down the signal repeater that once transmitted
into the valley where I live. I don't watch TV enough to
justify buying a satellite at this point. AND I DON'T WANT TO.
> ... And consider
> too, that usually when Okrand needs a noun for something, he just uses the
> verb form if it exists (a real Proechellian, Okrand).
HIja'. DIp lanDaq wot lo'mo' Okrand qay' ghaH, qar'a'?
> I hope we can get some
> official copy, either from Hallmark, Okrand, whatever, on what this is
> supposed to be. It'll be fun to see how close (or more likely, far) I am to
> understanding this spoken Klingon.
I'll add this to my list...
> >Sorry that I sent that one off before thanking Holtej for his
> >excellent work in writing down the Klingon from the Hallmark
> >commercial. Getting your act together to tape it and then
> >transcribe it was a real accomplishment. batlh Data', jupwI'!
>
> I think "excellent" is a bit generous, but I thank you for the sentiment!
> Had I been more experienced or persistent, I might have been able to pull
> off those last three lines, but, as I'm sure all know by now, Real Life (tm)
> is very demanding right now. (Someone want to come over and change some
> diapers for a while?)
>
> --Holtej
I tend to follow the advice I once read on an asperin bottle:
KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN!
charghwI'