tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Apr 16 02:29:22 1996
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Five elements
- From: "David Wood" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Five elements
- Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 05:29:15 -0400 (EDT)
> I want to work on a translation of some Vedic hymns into Klingon.
> I need the names of five elements:
> Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Aether.
> I have found only "qul" and "bIQ", I don't think "tera'" will do.
> what about "air"?
qul...........fire
bIQ..........water
lam...........soil / dirt / "earth" surrogate
muD.....atmosphere / weather / "air" surrogate
> Aether (might be also "emptiness" or "empty space")
> do you think I can use "chImlogh" as one word?
As for aether, I haven't found an alternative yet. You may want to consider what
you mean by aether. Find a suitable scientific substitute. Then work on
translating that term instead. Aether is a decidedly Terran mythological
concept, which depends greatly on the particular myth you're reading. (And me
without a copy of Space: 1889. Harumph.)
However, count yourself lucky that you have four. The fifth may be some time
coming... I could find no word for "element."
Bang goes the periodic table, right?
I expect that their progress in the field of alchemy is even more limited. I
know the Klingon science of demonology is stunted, if the feckler is the only
thing they have going... and of that, I can only theorize.
-- David Wood, Freelance Computer Consultant
("Freelance" is just a cheesy way of saying "Irregularly Employed")