tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Nov 30 14:08:53 1996

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RE: KLBC: YA puq

November 28, 1996 11:56 AM, jatlh Philippe Lavallee:

> nuqneH Hoch!

tlhIngan Hol vIjatlh vIneH jIH.  nuq DaneH SoH?

Welcome to the list!  I'm SuStel, the list's Beginners' Grammarian.  I presume 
that you've been to
http://www.kli.org
and
http://www.thomtech.com/~dspeers/klingon/faq.html

> Here comes the new puq on the block with a few questions.
> I am aware that tlhIngan names can pretty much be written in any way one
> seems fit, but writing them correctly would nonetheless better my
> understanding of tlhIngan Hol.

I shall look at your examples and translate them as sentences or phrases.  I 
will not run words together.  If you really wish to have a name which 
translates into something (I should start translating people's back into 
English!), then you can do what you like with it.

> Spear-tongue: chonnaQjat?

Yup.  Whatever that is, anyway!

> Comet-chaser: tlha'wI'lIymey? (She who chases comets?)

{lIy tlha'wI'} "One who chases comets"  The {-mey} suffix is almost always 
optional, and doesn't add any difference to the meaning.  "One who chases a 
comet" means the same thing to me as "One who chases comets."  Why bother 
adding plural suffixes unless you need them?

> Moonshadow: MaSQIB?

Ease off the shift key!  {m} and {b} are not capitalized.  {maSQIb}.  Another 
compound noun.

> Exceptional adviser: qeSwI'le'? (She who advises exceptional? Is there a way
> to say "She who advises exceptionalLY"?)

Well, {qeSwI' le'} would be "special advisor," or "advisor who is special."  
If you were talking about someone who is very good at doing that job, I'd say 
{qeSwI' po'} "skilled advisor."

> Shooting-star: bachwI'Hov? (The star that shoots?)

That's an English idiom, and there's no reason to assume that Klingon has the 
same idiom.  A shooting star is simply a meteor (as opposed to a meteoride, 
before it enters the atmosphere, or a meteorite, after it hits the planet 
surface).  {chunDab}.

> Enemy's toothache: Ho''oy'jaghDaj? (toothache enemy's?)

In possessive forms (see TKD p. 25) the possessor noun precedes the possessed 
noun.  "Enemy's toothache" would be {jagh Ho''oy'}.  When one noun possesses 
another, you don't need to use any suffixes to indicate this.

> Reason caretaker: QorghwI'meq? (He who cares for reason?)

I have no idea what this is supposed to mean, but a literal translation would 
be {meq QorghwI'} "reason caretaker."  What you have above is 
"caretaker-reason."

> And a few other words:
> 
> Monastery: SovHal? (Knowledge source?)

Out of context, this wouldn't mean much to me or anyone else.  What is a 
monestary?  How does it fit into the context of what you're saying?  
"Knowledge-source" could mean anything.  It could refer to a library computer, 
a well used for divination, or even a fortune cookie!

> High Smith: qIpwI'baSpIn'a'? (He who hits metal master?)

Well, I might translate "smith" as {baS chenmoHwI'} "metal maker" or maybe 
{baS choHmoHwI'} "metal alterer."  I don't really like either one.  Certainly 
a smith does more than just "hit metal," and I would have no idea what a {baS 
qIpwI'} was without the complete context.

A "high smith" could be translated several ways, depending on how these smiths 
of yours are organized.  Is there one high smith {baS chenmoHwI' pIn}, is high 
smith the title of a very skilled smith {baS chenmoHwI' po'qu'}, is it a very 
important and powerful position {baS chenmoHwI''a'}?  Once again, the 
all-powerful context rules.

> Brotherhood: loDnI'gho? (Brother circle?)

Again, it depends on the meaning.  I might use {yej'an} "society" or {tlhach} 
"faction, sect" (both from HolQeD 4:4).  "Brother circle" wouldn't make *any* 
sense out of context, and is idiomatic at best.

> And then, what would "Brotherhood of the High Smiths" be?

Aha!  Now we get to it!  Use the above to construct this!  I'll use one set of 
examples to get you started:

baS chenmoHwI''a' yej'an

> And one last thing: What is Sto-Vo-Kor in tlhIngan Hol? QI'tu'?

{QI'tu'} is the source of all creation in Klingon mythology.  It may or may 
not be the same as Sto-vo-kor (I don't believe it is).  Sto-vo-kor is where 
honored dead Klingons go (to fight in the Black Fleet, I suppose).

> nejwI'Sov

Is this meant to be your name?  "Seeker-knowledge"?  Perhaps you mean {Sov 
nejwI'} "knowledge seeker."

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 96916.6

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