tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Dec 06 14:58:20 1997
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Re: KLBC mu'tay' qeq
- From: Qov <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: KLBC mu'tay' qeq
- Date: Sat, 06 Dec 1997 14:58:11 -0800
At 11:21 97-12-03 -0800, Doneq wrote:
} I tried to write a story with as much words I don't know yet as
} possible (within the context of the story)
majQa'. mu'tay' boghojmeH patvetlh vIchupqu'.
} romuluS toQDuj tlha' DIvI'may'Duj tlhIngan toQDuj je.
3rd person singular object. 3rd person plural subject. Correct
tlhIngan Hol calls for the prefix {lu-}. I recommend the suffix
{-qu'} to intensify {tlha'} to convey the idea of pursuit, {tlha'}
also means simply "follow," as if the Romulan were showing the others
the way. Also, because the rest of the action of the story takes
place during this pursuit, a continuous aspect suffix would be
useful. I'll assume they are pursuing with the intent to catch them,
not just aimlessly following them around, so I recommend {-lI'}.
Thus your verb is: {lutlha'qu'lI'}
} A Federation Battle Cruiser and a Bird of Prey chase a Romulan
} Warbird.
} (is it ok to say {toQDuj} for Warbird as well?)
It would be like saying "the Yugoslavian Lada" for the Yugo or "an
American MiG" for the F-18. Is that close enough for your purposes?
} 'ejyo' ra'ghomquv je maghta' romuluSnganpu'.
} The Romulans betrayed Starfleet and the High Command.
maj. Appropriate use of the perfective. The Romulans *had*
completed this betrayal *before* the action of the chase.
} <DIvI'vaD tlhIngan wo'vaD je rojmab wIneH> jatlh romuluSnganpu',
} 'ach neplaw'. The Romulans said: "we want a peace treaty with the
} Federation and the Klingon Empire," but they apparently lied.
You could continue to use the perfective here, but it's not wrong
without. It just took me a moment to realize that the 'aspect
perspective,' had changed here.
} SutlhmeH Quv lI'ta' romuluSnganpu'.
} The Romulans transmitted coordinates in order to negotiate.
It *is* confusing if you switch back and forth between no aspect and
perfective. Either put everything that happened before the chase in
perfective, OR use perfective on the first verb, establishing a new
time of reference, and then don't use aspect on the events that
occured during that time of reference.
Think of aspect like this. You have a frame of reference, the time
that you are talking about. Something that is in the background,
as having already occured before your reference time is marked with
the perfective. Somthing that stretches out of your reference time
in one direction or another, mark with the continuous aspect. You can
change your reference frame to change the aspect with which you
describe the same action.
wejHu' maqettaH - three days ago we were running around
cha'Hu' maqetpu'mo' 'oy' 'uSDu'maj - the day before yesterday our
legs hurt because we had run.
} 'ach QuvvamDaq paw'ta'DI' DIvI' 'oSwI'pu' tlhIngan 'oSwI'pu' je,
} So'Ha'mo' nargh romuluS toQDujmey law'. But when the Federation and
} the Klingon emissaries arrived at these coordinates, many Warbirds
} appeared because they uncloaked.
maj.
} nuHmey law' ghajbe'mo' DIvI' 'oSwI' Duj tlhIngan 'oSwI' Duj je,
} HublaHbe'.
} Because the Federation and the Klingon emissaries' ships weren't
} heavily armed, they were defenceless. (loose translation)
Good translation.
} Dujmey Qaw'lu' 'ej jor.
{luQaw'lu'}. Plural object of Qaw' with the {-lu'} suffix requires a
{lu-} prefix, too.
} The ships were destroyed and they exploded.
} (Qaw' was listed as a noun in TKD; I suppose that's a typo,
} qar'a'?)
bIlugh. ghItlhHa'lu'.
} ngoDvam QoyDI' 'ejyo' ra'ghomquv je romuluSnganpu' bIjmeH
} tlha' may' Dujmey 'e' ra'.
} When Starfleet and the High Commandheard this, they ordered
} battleships to follow the Romulans, in order to punish them.
maj.
} qaStaHvIS cha'maH chorgh repmey romuluS toQDuj tlha'lI'.
} During twenty eight hours, they've been chasing the Romulan
} Warbird.
{lutlha'lI'}. And you know this can also be translated "they chased
the Romulan Warbird for 28 hours" ? Continuous aspect can be in the
present, past or future.
} romuluS rI' 'e' nID, 'ach jangbe' romuluS petaQpu'.
} They attempted to hail them, but the Romulan bastards didn't
} answer.
{lurI' 'e' lunID} And consider {jangQo'} to indicate Romulan defiance
in not answering, as opposed to simple not answering.
} DaH taghta' veS!
} Now it's war!
} (loose translation again)
maj. Another appropriate use of aspect. You could have just said:
{tagh veS} - "war began" but by adding the {DaH} you brought the time
context forward so that the initiation of war is complete. "Now war
has begun!"
Ask if you have any questions about what I've said on the perfective.
It isn't cut and dried, and we have no examples of Klingon narrative
in canon to know when aspect shifts are appropriate. I'm just hoping
it works like French and English.
Qov [email protected]
Beginners' Grammarian