tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Sep 19 12:35:09 1994
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: KLBC:2010 "warning"
>From: "William H. Martin" <[email protected]>
>Date: Sun, 18 Sep 94 16:44:24 EDT
>According to [email protected]:
>>
>>
>> tlhInganpu':
>>
>> I was watching 2010, yesterday, and though that I would try and put the final
>> warning speech into tlhIngan. I won't post the translation, because I want
>> to see if you can translate it (meaning I hope I didn't screw it up too bad)
>> :) .
>>
>> Hoch yuQmeyvam boghaj 'ach *Europa*
>Mostly good. Since {Hoch yuQmeyvam} is a noun-noun possessive
>construction, it means either "everybody's these planets" or
>"These planets of all". We have come to the consensus on this
>list (I believe) that this is better stated as {yuQmeyvam
>Hoch}, "all of these planets".
That consensus is supported by canon. See the insult in PK: "targhlIj yab
tIn law' no'lI' Hoch yabDu' tIn puS" for "Your targh has a bigger brain
than all your ancestors put together." Note how "no'lI' Hoch" works for
"all your ancestors"... just as we use it here.
(incidentally, note the avoidance of "ghaj" here and in "Hab SoSlI'
Quch"/"your mother had a smooth forehead." English uses "to have" in a
hell of a lot of contexts with a hell of a lot of meanings, and I suspect
(and Okrand's usage and translation of "ghaj" as "possess" bears this out)
that Klingon doesn't have anywhere near the same polysemy on this verb.)
>charghwI'
~mark