tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Nov 07 18:46:30 1996

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RE: KLBC: How's this?

DaH batlh tlhIngan Hol DajatlhchoH!  majQa'!

jatlh McReynolds:

>  tlhIngan Hol:
>  
>  naDevDaq jaHtaH pagh!  wa'DIch, mu'meywIj Dayaj'a'?  chu'wI'mo' jIH,
>  tlhIngan vIQub 'ej pab je mu'tay' vInej QatlhtaH 'e' qaja'laHchu'.
>  DI'vI' Hol ngeDlaw'!

Ok, maybe we should take this one sentence at a time.  And if anyone else is 
reading, perhaps you could follow this suggestion, too.

*{naDevDaq jaHtaH pagh!}

Well, without even worrying about what you're trying to say, you should 
realize that you can't put {-Daq} on {naDev}.  See TKD p.27.

Now, "here goes nothing" is a very idiomatic expression.  What's going?  What 
is "here"?  Why is it "nothing"?  Obviously, you are attempting *something*.  
This is the sort of expression which you simply don't say in Klingon.  
Klingons wouldn't worry about marking the beginning of an attempt at 
something, they'd just go ahead and do it!  I'd say just leave this sentence 
out entirely.  If you *must* have something in its place, I'd guess it would 
have to be "I begin now."  {DaH jItagh}.

*{wa'DIch, mu'meywIj Dayaj'a'?}

You can't use {wa'DIch} in this manner.  It is only used to number things.  It 
must follow a noun, and then means gives that noun an ordinal value.  {Duj 
wa'DIch} is "the first ship."  Again, this sort of thing is not very relevant 
to the sentence as a whole, and I doubt Klingons would be interested in saying 
it.

Also, Are you addressing just me or the list in general?  If it's just me, 
then the rest of the sentence is fine.  If it's also the rest of the list, 
then you need to use the plural "you" prefix, {bo-}.

*{chu'wI'mo' jIH, tlhIngan vIQub 'ej pab je mu'tay' vInej QatlhtaH 'e' 
qaja'laHchu'.}
"Because I am a starter, I can tell you clearly that it is hard to think like 
a Klingon and look up grammar and vocabulary."

Well, that's quite a difficult sentence!  Let's see, where to begin . . . ?

"Because I am a starter [beginner] . . ."  We tend to use the word {taghwI'} 
"one who starts" for this word.  A {chu'wI'} is someone who is new.  I don't 
suppose you just came out of the box, did you?  :)

You could say {taghwI' jIH} for "I am a beginner."  If you want to say 
"*Because* I'm a beginner, you need to put the {-mo'} suffix on the {jIH}, 
because it is acting as the verb: {taghwI' jIHmo'}.

" . . . it is hard to think like a Klingon . . ."

You have tried *{tlhIngan vIQub}, which really means "I think a Klingon."  
Thinking *like* a Klingon is a more difficult idea (I guess it takes a Klingon 
. . .).  There are many ways to do it.  Let me show you one:

{jIQubtaHvIS, tlhIngan yab rur yabwIj}  "While I think, my brain resembles a 
Klingon brain."

It's a bit strange, but sometimes Klingon requires different sentence 
constructions than English.  There are also probably more elegant ways to say 
this.

If I want to say "It is hard to think like a Klingon,", then I need to change 
the sentence a bit.

"In order that my brain resembles a Klingon brain while I think, it is 
difficult."
{jIQubtaHvIS tlhIngan yab rurmeH yabwIj, Qatlh}.  What is the "it" in "it is 
difficult"?  Certain simple nouns will suffice: {Qu'} "task," {wanI'} "event."

See why this was such an ambitious sentence?  :)

There's another part of this sentence, which means "in order to look up 
grammar and vocabulary."  You said *{pab je mu'tay' vInej}.  Remember that 
noun conjunctions come *after* the nouns they join.  {pab mu'tay' je}.  Also, 
{nej} may not be the best word for what you're talking about (it's not wrong, 
but there is a better one).  Try {Sam} "seek and find."  Therefore, to say "in 
order to look up grammar and vocabulary," you can say {pab mu'tay' je 
vISammeH}.

Putting these last two sections together (with a sentence conjunction {'ej}), 
we get a big one:

{jIQubtaHvIS tlhIngan yab rurmeH yabwIj, 'ej pab mu'tay' je vISammeH, Qatlh 
Qu'.}

Almost done!  When you wanted to say " . . . I can clearly tell you," you said 
*{'e' qaja'laHchu'}.  This is *very* close.  The only problem is that you 
shouldn't use {'e'}.  TKD p.67 explains that you don't use {'e'} when you're 
joining a sentence and a verb of speaking.  You just push them together.

By the way, when you say "clearly," do you mean "in a flawless, perfect 
manner"?  This is what the suffix {-chu'} means.  Or did you mean "definitely, 
without a doubt"?  This is the {-bej} suffix.  To me, this makes much more 
sense.  For now, I'll assume that this is what you meant.

All in all, we get the following possible sentence:

{jIQubtaHvIS tlhIngan yab rurmeH yabwIj, 'ej pab mu'tay' je vISammeH, Qatlh 
Qu' qaja'laHbej.}

*{DI'vI' Hol ngeDlaw'!} "Federation Standard seems easy!"

You've got the spelling of {DIvI'} wrong (an extra glottal stop), but the main 
problem with this sentence is that you've got the subject in the object 
position.  The subject of the sentence is "Federation Stardard."  This means 
you have to put it *after* the verb: {ngeDlaw' DIvI' Hol}.

Another way to translate this sentence is "I suspect that Federation Standard 
is easy."  Is this what you meant, or did you mean "Federation Standard is 
easier than Klingon"?  This second would be {DIvI' Hol ngeD law' tlhIngan Hol 
ngeD puS}.  Look this construction up on TKD p.70-71.

Whew!

>  Approximate English:
>  
>  Here goes nothing!  First, can you understand what I'm saying?  As a
>  beginner, I can definately tell you that it is hard to think like a
>  Klingon and look up grammar and vocabulary.  English seems easy!
>  
>  Literal English:
>  
>  Here goes nothing!  First, can you understand my words?  Because I am a
>  starter, I can tell you clearly that it is hard to think like a Klingon
>  and look for grammar and vocabulary.  Federation language is easy,
>  apparently!
>  
>  -McReynolds; trying to think of a Klingon name... my first name means
>  "little king."  Maybe {che'wI'Hom}?  There is no word for king in my TKD,
>  and {ta'Hom}, {voDleHHom}, and {HI'Hom} all sound silly.  Actually,
>  anything followed by {-Hom} sounds weak!  {{:-(  Any ideas?

You've read the new FAQ, I suppose?  Of course, the choice of names is yours, 
but I'm personally tired of names reminding me of phrases like "Little Dog" 
and "Running Bear."  It's essentially what's happening.  I'd like to see more 
people with Klingon sounding names!  (Note: this is my opinion only!)

SuStel
Stardate    96854.5

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