tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jun 25 19:49:12 1996

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Re: Today is a ... [KLBC]




On Tue, 25 Jun 1996 08:46:17 -0700 [email protected] 
wrote:
> ghItlh Andre:
> >Hmmm, one of the most fascinating 
> >sentences that I like is "Today 
> >is a good day to die" (I once heard this one in one of the DS9 
> >series). This is my first attempt of this translation, however I 
> >doubt it's a good one.
>           
>           DaHjaj Hegh QaQjaj

"Today, may it be good death."?

> According to The Klingon Way (TKW), Marc Okrand used "It is a gooday to die" as:
> 	Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam
> or, "Today is good <for one> to die."

I hate this translation nearly as much as I hate {taH pagh taHbe'}, but hey, it is canon 
and Okrand doesn't exactly need my approval to write whatever he wants. It's his language. 
In this one example, he used a suffix indicating a physical location on an abstract noun 
{jajvam}, which surprised me. So, I bend. I think the language would have been more 
interesting if this {jajvam} were not an acceptable term, but the langauge is interesting 
enough that it can afford this small loss.
 
> >I struggle with "to die" it is something that happens in the 
> >future. I guess this means a verb of type 7 (TKD 4.2.7)
>  
> I think here we see the use of the verb suffix {-lu'} to show us that this will 
> most likely happen in the future, or rather, it is 'indefinite' when it will 
> happen.

Actually {-lu'} doesn't have anything to do with tense or aspect. It just means there is no 
reference to WHO does the action. That is what is indefinite. "In order that one dies, 
today is good." 
 
> Qapla'
> -chIya'ghu
> thinking of a tag line........
 
charghwI'




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