tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Jan 27 22:04:01 1996
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Re: KLBC: Re: *romangan*Daq mu'thleghmey val
- From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
- Subject: Re: KLBC: Re: *romangan*Daq mu'thleghmey val
- Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 01:21:34 -0600
Michael Rhodes writes:
>...since an English simple past almost always describes
>something that is completed, it seems to me that the use of the perfective
>suffix -pu' is appropriate.
It's a very old argument, but I'll give my opinion for the benefit of
anyone who hasn't seen it before. I believe that the perfective aspect
is best treated as indicating that an action is complete *in the context
of the sentence in which it is used.* The first sentence in TKD 4.2.7
states clearly that Klingon does not express tenses.
[the second sentence in a sentence-as-object never gets an aspect suffix]
>bIlighchu'! In retrospect, I believe I should have said: *romangan*Daq
>mu'tlheghmey val puS vImughpu' vIneH. This would agree with the example in
>TKD 6.2.5, p.67: qama'pu' vIjonta' vIneH. - I wanted to capture prisoners.
<bIlughchu'> DaghItlh 'e' DaHechba'. Hopbe' {u} {i} je. qay'be'.
While most of the translations of {-pu'} and {-ta'} in TKD indeed appear
with past tense, the meaning makes at least as much sense when translated
with present (or past) perfective. I tend to rely a little heavier on
the stated rules than on the exact words used in the translations.
> loQ bIQagh, DaSovbe'bogh DaSovchu'chugh.
> You will err only a little if you know what you do not know.
>
>For clarity, would adding Dochmey as a head noun help? The sentence would
>then read: loQ bIQagh, Dochmey DaSovbe'bogh DaSovchu'chugh.
{Dochmey} might be better than nothing, but surely you can find something
a bit more specific?
>>I hope to see more from you soon -- preferably your own words, and
>>not those of millenium-dead statesmen of a fallen empire. :-)
>Here I take exception. Both the Bible and the works of Shakespeare are
>being translated by members of the KLI. A person millenia-dead can still
>have something to say to us. I feel like the Roman Empire is an apt model
>to look at in comparison to the Klingon Empire. Many of the positive traits
>and values of Rome can also be found among the Klingons. A prime example is
>the emphasis on honor (Latin dignitas).
Hold it! I'm not trying to imply that their words are unimportant. But
I firmly believe that translation of others' words should wait until one
has become skilled in expressing one's own thoughts.
>I do have a couple of other questions. In the pIqaD writing system, is
>there any marks of punctuation? I have been working on a TrueType font of
>pIqaD and would like to include in it the appropriate symbols for a period,
>comma, question mark, exclamation point, colon, etc. Sov'a' vay'?
Some symbols have been seen on screen in the movies and/or on TV that
don't appear in what we "know" for the letters and numbers. However,
Michael Okuda is quite open about his choice of symbols being complete
nonsense. :-) I believe some of the Skybox cards have had triangles
where commas or periods would be appropriate, but their usage isn't
consistent. Are you aware of the TrueType font disk available from the
Klingon Language Institute? They're very good, and the proceeds from
their purchase benefits the KLI. :-)
-- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj