tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 08 13:24:22 1996
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Re: "Qo'noS ta'puq, Hamlet lotlut. lut 'ay' wa', lut 'ay'Hom
According to Alan Anderson:
>
> ghItlh peSHIr:
> >DaHjaj pawpu' paqna' chovnatlhwIj 'e' vIparHa'qu'.
>
> paqwIj je vIHevpu' 'ej jIQuch jIH je. rap qechwIj 'ach puj pabvam.
>
> By using the verb suffix {-pu'} on the verb {paw}, you imply that the
> book had already arrived when "today" occured. Its arrival appears to
> be complete at the time the events in the rest of the sentence occur.
While I agree that {-pu'} is often overused, sometimes I think
your watchdog-like loyalty to the ideal of extinguishing the
overuse of {-pu'} is too easily triggered. If he meant, "My
book arrived today," then he should not have used {-pu'}. If he
meant, "My book has arrived today," then {-pu'} was perfectly
appropriate. Maybe we should just ask?
> lengmeH loS jaj neH poQ'a'? chaq qIgh lo'.
>
> >mI' cha'vatlh cha'maH wej ngaS chovnatlhwIj.
> >DaH ngoD Daj vISovqang: nuq mI' ngaS chovnatlhra'?
>
> chovnatlhwIjDaq mI' wa'vatlh cha'maH cha' ghItlhlu'.
>
> The translation of "what number" troubles me. I can't quite convince
> myself that {nuq mI'} is the right way to say it, but I also can't come
> up with a better way to express it.
I agree that {nuq mI'} sounds wrong. In English, "what" can be
used either as a noun ("What is that?) or an adjective ("What
number do you have?"). In Klingon, {nuq} acts as a noun only.
I get around the problem by replacing the question with a
command. chovnatlhlIj mI' HIja'. [Or, if you prefer:]
jIHvaD chovnatlhlIj mI' yIja'.
Instead of asking you which number, I order you to tell me the
number. It doesn't violate any known useage and it fits quite
well with the Klingon culture, all while conveying exactly the
same meaning as the original question. Asking for data is,
ettiquette aside, the same thing as demanding data.
For a simpler example, I offer that the best translation for,
"Which pie do you want?" is {chab yIwIv! DaH!} or perhaps if
you feel especially polite, you might use the old standby:
{chab DawIvbe'chugh, vaj bIHegh!}
> -- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj
charghwI'
--
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