tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Dec 17 11:44:09 1997
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Re: KLBC:Raktajino
- From: "Robyn Stewart" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: KLBC:Raktajino
- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 11:45:15 PST
- Organization: NLK Consultants, Inc.
- Priority: normal
qoretlh writes:
> Call me qoretlh. I've been lurking on the list for months, and now
> it's time to stop lurking and actually post something.
majQa'!
> BTW,
> regarding the qep'Hommey, I hold one in my living room nearly every
> Sunday night here in Vegas.
Daj. cha' ben VegasDaq tlhIngan yupma'Daq jIjaH. pa' bISaH'a'?
tlhIngan Hol neH jatlhbogh be' jIH.
Interesting. Two years ago I went to a Klingon festival in Vegas.
Were you there? I was the woman who spoke only Klingon.
> Here is my attempt at the labeling on a bag of Rakjino.
>
> tlhIngan wo'Daq tIv raqtajIno.
> RAktajino is enjoyed in the Klingon Empire.
See the beginning of chapter 6 for a discussion of Klingon word
order. In each clause the Object precedes the Verb which precedes
the Subject (OVS). Everything else (adverbs, locatives, etc.) goes
before the clause.
This first sentence has an added complication, however, in that the
subject of the correct Klingon sentence is indefinite. The verb
{tIv} -- the correct verb -- means "enjoy" not "be enjoyed" and
{?raqtajIno} is the object, the thing that is enjoyed. (I think
raktajino may have been canonized with some spelling, but I'll
address the grammar and let someone else come up with that
reference). So what is the subject? It's kind of indefinite.
Klingon has a way to express this, with the verb suffix {-lu'}. Read
tlhIngan wo'Daq raqtajIno tIvlu'
"Raktajino is enjoyed in the Klingon Empire."
> Qa'vIn wIv wa'DIch joghDaq 'oHnom moj.
> It is quickly becoming the coffee to choose in the
> First Quadrant.
Never capitalize a letter in Klingon that isn't already capitalized,
even for a proper noun or the beginning of a sentence.
Klingon has many suffixes and prefixes that are added to words, but
words aren't combined randomly: affixing the adverb {nom} to the
pronoun {'oH} makes no more sense than writing "itfast" in English.
See the section on numbers in chapter 5. To say "first quadrant" the
word for first goes *after* the word for quadrant. {jogh wa'DIch}.
And then the locative suffix goes on the modifying word, not the
noun.
To say "the coffee to choose" you can use that indefinite subject
with {-lu'} again. You aren't saying specifically WHO is chosing the
coffee, just that someone is. {qa'vIn wIvlu'} "the coffee is chosen"
Now use {-bogh} (the type-9 verb suffix) to make a subordinate
clause: {qa'vIn wIvlu'bogh} "the coffee which is chosen" "the coffee
to choose." Perhaps even add the type-2 verb suffix {-nIS} (read
about all these verb suffixes in the chapter on verbs), to get
{qa'vIn wIvnISlu'bogh} "the coffee one must choose."
To the verb {moj} I add the continuous aspect suffix {-lI'}.
Continuous, because you are talking about an action in process: it
"is becoming." And I choose {-lI'} over the other continuous aspect
suffix {-taH} because becoming the first choice is a definable ending
point which you claim your product is definitely progressing towards.
The subject "it" is fairly far from its antecedent -- the word that
"it" stands in for -- and as this is advertising copy anyway, lets be
redundant and say the name of the product again.
Recalling from above the sentence order of
<everything else> <object> <verb> <subject>
you get:
{jogh wa'DIchDaq nom qa'vIn wIvnISlu'bogh mojlI' raqtajIno}
"In the first quadrant raktajino is quickly becoming the coffee of
choice." (lit: "the coffee one should choose").
Complicated? Somewhat. What may seem like a straightforward
sentence in English isn't necessarily as straightforward as you
think. Before you translate, work out what the subject, object verb
and other are, and if it's complicated to do in English, maybe you
don't want to tackle it in Klingon yet.
> Qej SuvwI'pu' yonmoH qa'vIn.
> This coffee satisfies grouch warriors.
I assume you meant "grouchy warriors." That's {qej} not {Qej}.
Have a look at the section on adjectives, in the verbs chapter.
Klingon doesn't exactly have adjectives, we have verbs that describe
states or conditions. When those verbs are used to say someone "is"
something, e.g. {qej SuvwI'} "The warrior is grouchy" they go before
their subjects, like any other verb. When they are used as
adjectives, e.g. to say "the grouchy warriors" they go after the noun
being described {SuvwI'pu' qej}.
The only thing else you need to add is the syllable for "this." It's
a noun suffix, {-vam}.
{SuvwI'pu' qej yonmoH qa'vInvam}
> That is all for now.
It was just the right amount. See if you can write some more
sentences using OVS word order and some of those suffixes.
-Qov