tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Nov 05 10:36:37 1996

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RE: KLBC yu'wI'

I'm pulling this message into KLBC, if it's all right . . .

jatlh Tremal-Naik:

>  wa'DIchwIj jabbI'ID... yIja' jIjatlhHa'chugh! :)

bIjatlhHa'pu'.  :)  When you use {-DIch} to number something ("first data 
transmission"), the number+{-DIch} always goes *after* the noun: {jabbI'ID 
wa'DIch} "first data transmission."  Also, you need to attach {-wIj} to the 
*noun*, not the number: {jabbI'IDwIj wa'DIch} "my first data transmission."

>  'ar DIS tlhIngan Hol boHaD'a'?

Whenever you use {'ar}, it goes *after* the noun you're quantifying.  The noun 
(as you have done) must be singular.  So to say "how many years?" you say {DIS 
'ar}.  But it's not enough just to say "How many years."  In Klingon, anything 
connected with a duration should probably be expressed like this: {qaStaHvIS 
DIS 'ar tlhIngan Hol boHaD'a'?} "While how many years occur do all of you 
study Klingon?" or, more readably, "How many years have you been studying 
Klingon?"

>  Hu' Holvam vIghoj 'e' vItagh

I believe you're trying to say "I began to learn this language days ago."  If 
so, then may I say that you're doing an excellent job!

Still, there's an easier way to say this.  In Klingon, you can use the Type 3 
verb suffix {-choH}, which means "change of state, begin."  If you say {Hu' 
Holvam vIghojchoH}, it indicates that before the "days ago," you weren't 
learning Klingon, and now you are.  It can be translated as "Days ago, I began 
to study this language."

Klingons prefer to be as accurate as possible.  We're not sure if you can use 
{Hu'} all by itself.  You are not wrong by using it, though.  However, since 
the Klingon language works best when the speaker is being precise, you might 
want to specify *how many days ago* you began to learn Klingon.  For example, 
{wejHu' Holvam vIghojchoH}.

>  'ej 'oH Dajqu' 'ach qay'wI' vIghaj...

The only problem here is that the subject of {Dajqu'}, {'oH}, should go 
*after* the verb.

>  jabbI'IDHomvaD tinbe'

This I don't understand.  "It's not big for the benefit of a minor data 
transmission"?  Perhaps you are saying that it's not big compared to other 
data transmissions.  Some *may* understand this, but it's confusing me.  
Perhaps you could just say {tInbe' jabbI'IDHomvam} "This data transmission is 
not big."  It seems to get the same meaning across.

>   'ach vay' vIghItlh 'e' vIneH!!

You've got {'e'} down pretty well.  Unfortunately, TKD 66-67 says that when 
you are using the verb {neH} as the second verb, you never use {'e'} or {net}. 
 You just leave them out.  Therefore, your sentence should be {'ach vay' 
vIghItlh vIneH!}

>  'oH qaw jIH ben
>  wa'DIch *English* ghItlhwI'wIj... *Italian* jIH!!

When you use a time-marker like {ben}, it has to go at the beginning of the 
phrase or sentence: *{ben 'oH qaw jIH}.  But this sentence is still not 
correct.  Use the table on TKD 33 to determine the correct verb prefix: 
subject {jIH} and object {'oH}.  The prefix is {vI-}.  The completed sentence: 
{ben 'oH vIqaw jIH}.  Note that the pronouns are optional.

What do you remember?  Your first English phrase?  This is the object, and 
needs to go where you put the {'oH}.  I've already mentioned that the ordinal 
{wa'DIch} needs to go *after* the noun.  So how do you say "phrase"?  You 
tried to use the word {ghItlhwI'}.  This means "writer" or "printer."  Were 
they words which you learned? {mu'mey vIghojbogh} "Words which I learned"  
Were they words which you wrote? {mu'mey vIghItlhbogh}  Were they words which 
you read?  {mu'mey vIlaDbogh}  (If you don't understand {-bogh}, read TKD 
63-64.)

Here's a completed version of your sentence: {ben mu'mey wa'DIch vIghItlhbogh 
vIqaw} "I remember the first words which I wrote years ago."  This is a bit of 
a difficult sentence.

>  (Sorry for this little and insignificant message but I want to write
>  something... It remember my first english phrase when I was 14 years old!! 
:-)

yItlhIjQo'!  bIghItlh 'e' yImevQo'!  batlh bIghoj!

SuStel
Stardate 96846.0

P.S.: That was a bit of a long .sig message.  Perhaps you could trim it to 
four lines?  :)

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