tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Jan 21 13:33:15 1996
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Re: DS9 #31
- From: "Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: DS9 #31
- Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 13:33:15 -0800
> >quv van je tay: (ritual of) honor and tribute.
> > maSaqqa'lI': We are in the process of arriving again.
> > petlheDrupchoH: Disembark (you will begin being ready
> > to depart)
>
> I'm having problems accepting the above phrases. Come on, someone. Convince
> me!
Damn, I suppose that's probably my job. :)
> I prefer {quvvantay}. I don't like the feeling I get with {je} in the
> middle.
I didn't like this one either. I didn't make it up. The writer of the story
actually did some of the Klingon himself and this phrase seemed to be pretty
much carved in stone. I don't think I'd go out on a limb so far as to say I'm
that happy with your suggestion of {quvantay}, but I would think that a ceremony
such of this would have undergone some linguistic weathering and assumed a
simpler form than the one they used.
> maSaqa'lI' seems to me okay for "We are landing again," with an intentional
> goal. I would use {mapawqa'lI'} for arriving. The use of {-qa'} Type 3
> together with {-lI'} Type 7 seems grammatical enough, to Klingons.
I generally follow the guidelines so often promoted on this list: "Don't
translate from English, try and think like a Klingon." Or, as my old
linguistics professor might have said, "What's the deep structure trying to
say?"
It's a space vehicle. "Landing" tells you something very different from
"arriving." Not to put too fine a point on this, but consider the parallel to
contemporary air travel. When a plane "lands" you make certain your seat belt
is securely fashioned and put your seat back and tray tables in their locked,
upright positions. When the plane "arrives" at the terminal gate, you get to
unbuckle your belt, make your way to the aisle, and head for the door.
There's nothing wrong with your suggestion of {mapawqa'lI'} but it wasn't the
meaning I was trying to convey.
>
> Disembark = go ashore (Webster's dictionary) = lItHa'
>
> Of course, {tIj} means "go aboard." I have never seen {tIjHa'}, but why
> wouldn't it work?
Again, I'm trying to think like a Klingon. Brusque, efficient, no-nonsense. The
scenario in my mind was something like "This is the captain speaking. We have
arrived. Get out!"
As for {tIjHa'}, I'm not completely comfortable with assuming that -Ha' produces
the meaning you want here. I would be more inclined to use {tIjHa'} to
represent someone who misses the flight because he failed to clear customs at
the last minute and "mis-boarded."
bIyaj'a'?
Lawrence
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