tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Apr 23 18:35:54 1996

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Re: KLBC: Computer terms, etc.

te'reS writes:
>I'm in the process of finishing up a Klingon vocabulary flashcard
>program, and I'd like a critique of the following terms:

Hmm.  Some of these only make sense with a bit more context than
they have here, but I'll assume that context for the moment.

>{De'wI' mIw}    computer program

I understand what you're trying to express, but I'm not sure that an
interactive program should be called a "procedure".

>{vay' leQ yI'uy}  Press any key

"Press down someone's/something's switch."  I don't think {vay'} works
for "any" in this way.  Leaving it off yields "press down a switch", a
somewhat more reasonable direct translation.  However, if you referred
to a "switch" on a computer, I'd be likely to go for the reset or power
switch.  I've never liked the open-ended "any key to continue" command
anyway; continuing ought to be an explicit command.  I think it ought to
be more specific, something like {bItaHrupDI' [H] yI'uy}.

>{chav ta}     certificate of achievement

I think {ta} sounds more like an entry in a journal or database than a
certificate, though I kind of like the sound of {ta' ta}.  Maybe you'd
like to use {Degh} instead?

>{rIn mu'tay' javmaH vatlhvI'}  The wordlist is 50% completed
>(In the last example, I'm concerned about the proper placement of a
>percentage relative to the noun it refers to.  I'm treating it like a N-N
>phrase: 50 percent of the vocabulary)

You are appropriately concerned.  This troubles me a bit, too.  Numbers
have their own rules when placed adjacent to a noun, and the noun-noun
construction isn't easy to apply here.  Because numbers placed after a
noun usually "label" that noun, I don't much like the way you've done it.
Try it with the number first: {javmaH vatlhvI' mu'tay'} would likely mean
"50% vocabulary" or "one half of a/the vocabulary".  Or, since we also
know how to say "half", you could change the phrase completely and avoid
dealing with the problem (for now): {mu'mey bID vIchelpu'}.

-- ghunchu'wI'               batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj

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