tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Nov 21 14:53:16 1996

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RE: KLBC:2 items

jatlh DloraH:

>  tlhaQ nuq  'e' wISov tlhInganpu' jay'
>  lutmaj luyajbe' tera'nganpu' jay'
>  
>  We Klingons have a sense of humor.  Just because you Terrans don't
>  understand our jokes doesn't mean we're not funny.

Was this supposed to be a translation?  I think you missed a lot of detail!

First off, you tried to say "we Klingons" by using the "we" verb prefix, and a 
third-person subject.  I don't quite understand why people try to do this, but 
I suspect it's from a desire to emulate English.  I don't like it.  Besides, 
this is the perfect opportunity to say "probably the most frequently heard 
Klingon phrase": {tlhIngan maH}.

Also, you have used a question word as part of a sentence-as-object statement. 
 Again, some people like to do this, and I honestly cannot fathom the logic 
behind it, except that it copies English.  Here's how I'd say the whole first 
bit in Klingon:

tlhIngan maH!  tlhaQbogh lut law' DISovbej jay'!
We are Klingons!  Of course we know lots of funny stories!  [explitive not 
translated :) ]

>  lutmaj luyajbe' tera'nganpu' jay'

All this is is "Terrans don't understand our story [singular]."  What happened 
to the rest?  How about this:

lutmaj tlhaQ yajbe'mo' tera'nganpu', matlhaQbe' net Daj neH.
Because Terrans don't understand our jokes, it is only inconclusively tested 
that we are not funny.

The second part is tough to translate into English, but it flows smoothly in 
Klingon.  What do you think?

SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 96892.3

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