tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jan 22 17:33:13 1997
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RE: Stomp Box
- From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: Stomp Box
- Date: Thu, 23 Jan 97 01:26:10 UT
January 22, 1997 2:02 PM EST, jatlh torroS:
> I have been slowly learning Klingong and working on poems in Klingon
> (with a preference for haiku and cinquain forms), but I just couldn't
> keep myself from trying to translate the following song, because, for
> some reason, it reminded me of Klingon. Your comments and translation
> are welcome. Note, though, that I took some poetic liberty and used
> clipped Klingon in a couple places.
I'm not familiar with this song, so I'm going to simply address the grammar of
what you have written (you really should include the original text!). I'll be
on the lookout for "clipped Klingon."
> "Stomp Box"
> by They Might Be Giants
>
> *Stomp Box*, qechwIj yIjatlh.
> ramvo' ghoghmeyvetlh yIwIb.
"Be sour those voices from the location of the night."
{wIb} is a stative verb (indicating a quality), and so doesn't seem to mean
much with an object. What does "Be sour those voices" mean?
Also, {-vo'} is a spacial indicator. It's talking about going away from some
physical location. Is something going away from the night? Or is this an
English expression you've translated, which uses the preposition "from"?
> jach! jach! jach! jach!
> 'oH yIjach!
> ghItlhlIj yIQaw'.
"Destroy your manuscript"?
> Qumghach mu'mey ghajbe'bogh yIja'.
"Tell the communification words which don't have."
I intentionally used "communification," because using {-ghach} without some
other suffix in between creates a similar effect. You might use it in a song
such as this, but only to achieve just such an effect.
I also suspect that you've misordered the relative clause here. Which is the
subject and which the object of the relative clause {ghajbe'bogh}?
> *Stomp Box* mach,
> tIqwIjvo' yIluH.
> *Stomp Box*, ghum ghogh,
> qoghwIjDaq tar yIchagh.
Hamlet reference?
> HoH! HoH! HoH! HoH!
> DaH HIHoH!
Merry Christmas to you, too! (It's a long story. Forget I even said it!)
> veqlarghvaD tlhab yInob.
It's a song, of course, but wouldn't this do better as {veqlargh yItlhabmoH}?
> jachtaHghach mevbogh yIQoy.
> *Stomp Box* mach,
> tIqwIjvo' yIluH.
What exactly IS a Stomp Box, anyway?
--
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97062.4