tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Sep 07 20:21:23 1996
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KLBC: B'Elanna
- From: Steven Boozer <[email protected]>
- Subject: KLBC: B'Elanna
- Date: Sat, 7 Sep 96 22:21:19 CDT
chay' pongDaj Hevpu' *be'elanna'*?
*Roma*ngan veS joH'a' lutlh ghaH *Bellona*'e' 'ej *Mars* be'nal be'nI'
ghap luqel *Roma*nganpu'.
(*Roma*ngan Hol veS 'oS <bellum>'e' net Sov.)
*Roma* veng HurDaq *Bellona* quvmoHmeH 'oHtaH chIrgh tIQ.
pa' SutlhtaHvIS Duy'a' nov ghom yejquv qoj cheghtaHDI' charghta'bogh
Sa' van je.
How did B'Elanna get her name?
Bellona was the native Roman war goddess and was considered either the
wife or sister of Mars. (The Latin word for war is, of course, *bellum*.)
There was an ancient temple to Bellona outside the city of Rome, and the
Senate would meet there when negotiating with foreign ambassadors or when
greeting the return of victorious generals.
yIqIm *trI'Qal* HoD!
This is not intended to be an exact translation, just a rendering. I
chose the Latin name "Roma" over the English "Rome" because it is more
pronounceable in Klingon (in spite of the nasty {romuluSngan}
connotations). The last sentence particularly gave me trouble, but I tried
something a little complicated here and wanted your opinion.
Although I've been monitoring this list for nearly three years, this is
the first time I've submitted a tlhIngan Hol text of this length to the
BG's knife (ghojmeH taj Dalo'a'?). I was entering the English text into my
annotated lexicon of Klingon terms and realized that I could probably
render the paragraph into Hol. I wonder, does anybody else judge short
texts and quotations in terms of their suitability for translation?
>> tlhIngan Hol rIntaH. Warning: DIvI' Hol speculation ahead! <<
>> Those offended by off-topic discussions may choose to move on <<
>> to the next message now. <<
Was this a coincidence? I've heard repeatedly that there are a couple of
classicists among the writing staff of DS9 and VOY who may have indulged
their training while creating a name for the half-Klingon Maquis. Perhaps
they were reminded of Bellona when looking at the female name "B'Etor"
and, since Bellona is rather less known than her male counterpart,
considered it suitably martial for a Klingon. (The Star Trek writers
routinely slip in inside jokes. For example, a member of the Trek
production crew is named "Zimmerman." The Voyager's doctor hesitancy in
choosing a name may, in fact, be a take-off of the trouble the writers
themselves have in doing the same thing!) Also, Roxanne Biggs-Dawson
played a character named Lt. Torres years earlier in the TV movie "NYPD
Mounted." Voila... Lt. B'Ellana Torres is born.
If anyone has heard anything else, I invite them to reply off-list.
Voragh
(who rather likes Klingon women's names beginning with "V" such as
Valkris, Valeris, Vekma and Vixis)