tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 08 19:28:15 1995
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Re: vocabulary
- From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
- Subject: Re: vocabulary
- Date: Wed, 8 Nov 1995 22:28:02 -0500
Qogh writes:
>There are several words (concepts) which I have come across which i
>am unsure how to express.
Having had my say on the subject of translating words in general, I
will nonetheless respond to these individual words.
>light as a noun
If you mean "light, the thing that reflects from objects" then you can
use the word {'otlh} "photon". If you mean "light, the object that emits
visible electromagnetic radiation", then you must describe what it does.
>chest the body part
If you couldn't say "chest", what would you say instead?
I might say {ro 'et}.
>lava
If you couldn't say "lava", what would you say instead?
I might say {tetpu'bogh nagh}.
>wood
If you couldn't say "lava", what would you say instead?
(Are you beginning to see a pattern here?)
I might say {Heghpu'bogh Sar}, or perhaps {Sar Hap}.
>crush or squeeze
Make up your mind. Do you want "crush" or do you want "squeeze"?
Squeeze: push on something's sides
Crush: push intensely on something in order to break it
>wide
>bloody
I won't try to deal with these adjectives without context. Context!
That's the key. Do not ask, "How do I say 'bloody'"? Ask instead
how to describe a bloody jacket. Does the blood completely cover
the jacket? Is there merely a small bloody spot? Or is this just
a mild British expletive? Context!
>Here are some words I think I may have translated sufficiently:
>volcano -- HuDqul
Please, try hard to avoid making compound nouns. Any compound noun
that most people would quickly understand makes just as much sense
when it's two separate nouns. In this case, I see "mountain's fire"
and I think you're talking about some sort of fire. Be precise! Be
wordy! Call it a "mountain which exhausts smoke and/or fire", and I
will expect that most people will get an image of a volcano.
>blacksmith --vumbaSwI'
Ouch. This is bad. First, "work-metal-er" makes about as much sense
in Klingon as it does in English. Second, even if we try to put the
pieces together in a different order, the word {vum} clearly means
"to expend effort", not "to reshape" like the "work" in the English
"ironworker" or "woodworker". It also does not apply to taskmasters
who "work" their slaves, or to farmers who "work" the soil. What you
probably want to describe is someone who forms things from hot metal.
Don't lose heart. You show enthusiasm. That's good. If you practice,
you will become skilled. That's a promise.
-- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj