tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Dec 05 09:00:40 1996

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Re: KLBC: More Translations...

>>From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
>>December 03, 1996 6:00 AM, jatlh De'vuch:
>>
>>> K:	Su', qaH.
>>> E:	Ready, sir.
>>
>>{Su'} does not mean "be ready," it means that the speak is about to give a 
>>command, or that the speaker is about to do something.  If you, speaking this 
>>line, are about to do something, and you wanted to alert your captain, this 
>>would be fine.  "Get ready, sir!"
>
>No, you can use Su' this way.  Check the dictionary.  Su' and SuH (but not
>'eH) can be used to mean that the speaker is ready to do something.

As always, canon is instructive (note that SuH/Su' are pronounced by some
Klingons as "SSS..." according to Okrand):

    SSS... baH! Ready... fire! ST:TMP 
[when the captain raised his hand in preparation for the order to fire] 
This was one of the eleven original Klingon words created by James Doohan
and the late Mark Lenard in the opening scene of ST:TMP which Marc Okrand
used as the basis for tlhIngan Hol.

    HablI' Su' labbeH Ready to transmit. ST3

    SSS... mev! ba'! Do not do that! Sit! (a pet command) PK

    SuH  Stand by! (TNG:Redemption I)
    SuH  Ready!    (TNG:Redemption I)
Okay, so these last two don't really count, but I think they're still
useful. {{;-)

'eH! Ready! (response to a command, i.e. "Standing by.") ST:TMP
This was another of the eleven original Klingon words created by Doohan and
Lenard and seems to be what De'vuch originally wanted to say.

For other ways to say "be ready" cf. ghuH, ghuS, -rup & -beH. I'll spare you
the relevant citations.

Hmm... like the US Coast Guard, Klingons are "Semper paratus"!


>>> K:	qepvam bItalahbe'.
>>> E:	You may not record this meeting.
>>
>>{ta} is a noun, meaning "record."  The *verb* meaning "record" is {qon}.
>>Finally, this sentence has an object, but you used a "no object" prefix (you 
>>using that table on TKD p. 33 right?).  The correct prefix is (Da-}
>>      qepvam DaqonlaHbe'.
>
>Somehow, "-laH" to me seems to imply ability, not permission.  I would tend
>to use something like "net tuch" or "net chaw'be'" to mean "may not."

Unless, of course, the speaker had just smashed your recording device.


>>> K:	jI'oy'chugh, qaja'Qo'.  'oy'chaj lubep tlhInganpu'.  lutIv.
>>> E:	If I hurt, I won't tell you.  Klingons do not complain about their
pain.  
>>> They enjoy it.
>>
>>maj!  The only problem is that you forgot the {-be'} suffix on {bep}.
>
>And the transitivity question of bep.

Note how Okrand finesses this:
    loQ 'oy'DI' SuvwI' bepbe'  TKW
    A warrior does not complain about physical discomfort ("aching slightly").

Cf. also vIng "whine" (vb.) which has the same uncertain transitivity. There
are no examples of it being used in canon I know of, though someone on this
list once said "bIvIng 'e' yImev" (Stop whining!)

>
>~mark

Voragh

______________________________________________________________________
 Steven Boozer                 |  
 Cataloging Department         |   "Saying, would know.
 University of Chicago Library |    Do not know, so cannot say."
 [email protected]   |                         -- Zathras

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