tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jul 15 15:45:06 1996
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Other Skybox stuff
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: Other Skybox stuff
- Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996 18:43:36 -0400
After reading ~mark's post on Skybox card S20's Klingon sentences, I took a
closer look at all three of them. I must say, there are some pretty
frightening things there!
In the first sentence of S19, we find {labmeH 'evnagh Se' tlhIngan QumwI'},
"A Klingon communicator sends a signal through subspace radio." Errr . . .
have you noticed that there is no main verb in there? Translating it myself,
I come up with "A Klingon communicator, in order that subspace radio
frequencies transmit." Now, is this, perhaps, a label? We know that {-meH}
can modify a noun, but can it do it this way? Or should the translation be
"A subspace frequency Klingon communicator for transmitting?" Either way,
this is no complete sentence.
In S21 (I've fixed the many spelling errors), we've got {yIntaHbogh tlhIngan
Soj tlhol jablu'DI' HIvqu'lu'. qagh, ro'qegh'Iwchab, targh tIq Sop 'e'
lungIl Humanpu' puS.} "Klingon food is best when served fresh and live. Few
humans dare to eat gagh, rokeg blood pie, or heart of targ."
First off, I noticed that Okrand avoided using two verbs adjectivally in a
row ("fresh" is rendered {tlhol}). Nothing outstanding there.
Unfortunately, he says that "one *attacks*" as soon as this food is served.
Huh? Is this a typo for {nIv}, such as appears in TKW's translation of
"Gagh is always best when served live"? Even then, it doesn't make sense in
this form!
Next, I noticed that there is no noun conjunction for {qagh},
{ro'qegh'Iwchab}, and {targh tIq}. I expected to see {joq} there. I think
{joq} would work better than {je} or {ghap}; certainly few humans dare to eat
gagh, rokeg blood pie, AND heart of targ!
However, examining the rest of the sentence, I'm forced to conclude that
Okrand was thinking of {ghap}. He says {qagh, ro'qegh'Iwchab, targh tIq
Sop}. Notice that there is no {lu-} prefix on {Sop} which I would expect if
the proper conjunction were {joq}.
Finally, considering the numerous spelling errors in the three samples and
their brevity, I am beginning to wonder if perhaps Okrand was rushed to get
these translated, or if he was the translator at all!
SuStel
Stardate 96539.0