tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 29 12:37:03 1996
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Re: Newbies attempt at More Klingon Taglines
>Date: Sat, 27 Jan 1996 20:27:51 -0800
>From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
>QlojmIt writes:
>>>jabbI'IDvam DalaDta''a'?
>>Can you read this data transmission?
>There's nothing in the Klingon to indicate "ability", so the word
>"can" isn't appropriate in the translation. {ta'} is hard to say
>concisely in English, but it's close to "accomplish". I think it
>should be "Do/did you accomplish reading this data transmission?"
I don't think it's all that wrong to have that "can" in there. It's a
matter of idiom. For example, "tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh'a'?" literally means
"do you speak Klingon," but how does that differ from "Can you speak
Klingon" if the tense is considered to be general (i.e. if I were asking
"So, when you and ghunchu'wI' met, did you speak Klingon?" the "can"
reading wouldn't work). It's more a matter of idiomatic *English*
translation than anything.
>>>DaH yImej!
>>Now leave!
>maj.
Note, of course, that this needs to be "pemej" if more than one person is
addressed.
~mark