tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Oct 29 19:49:14 1995
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Re: Translation correct?
- From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
- Subject: Re: Translation correct?
- Date: Sun, 29 Oct 1995 22:49:05 -0500
[email protected] writes:
>qajatlh tlhInganpu'
You are speaking to Klingons. That is already apparent. There is no need
to waste your effort (and our time) in restating that which is obvious.
[Note that I'm being unnecessarily nit-picky here!]
>I'm a newbee in tlhIngan Hol.
The common spelling is "newbie". [More gratuitous nit-picking!]
>Trying to form a phrase, and wich to know if it's correct.
====
You mean "wish", right? [:-)]
>[You (single) translate it into klingon] e.i. a name.
Is this a command or an observation of fact? The two cases have different
meanings, and thus different translations. If what you mean to say is "Hey
you -- translate it into the Klingon language!" then it's a command, and it
needs the "imperative" verb prefix. "Translate it!" is {yImugh}. But if
you're simply noticing that someone indeed translates it into the Klingon
language, then it's a simple statement. "You translate it" is, as you
propose, {Damugh}.
>{Damugh tlhIngan} looks nice.
First, the word order is wrong. The only thing that comes after the verb
is a subject, and the subject is "you". Second, you'll have to be a bit
more precise about what you mean by translating "into klingon". The idea
of "translating into" a language doesn't quite fit the verb {mugh}. To say
what I think you mean, you'll have to say something like "translate for the
benefit of speakers of the Klingon language" or "translate for the benefit
of Klingons."
>A friend advices me to write {Damugh tlhInganDaq}.
This also has problems with the word order, but it at least recognizes that
"translate into" needs more than a simple {mugh}. Although the suffix
{-Daq} can mean "in" or "to", it is really supposed to indicate a physical
location, and not to be a replacement for the english "into". Also,
{tlhIngan} isn't a language, it's a people. The name of the Klingons'
language is {tlhIngan Hol}.
>Wich of this would be preferable?
==== ====
You mean "which of these", right? [:-)]
Neither of them makes sense as they stand. Try again.
-- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj