tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Jul 05 13:24:04 1997

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: Help KLBC: tamqu' pa'wIj



[email protected] on behalf of William  Cody wrote:
> I tried to translate the story tamqu' pa'wIj, and I didn't do very well.  I
> used the dictionary,  but I couldn't find some words.  I know it's a little
> old, but if someone could tell me what I did wrong, I would appreciate it.
> Thanks!!
> 
> Unusually, the home farm is really noisy.

The line was {motlh, chuSqu' juHwIj}.  {wIj} is indeed "farm," but it is also 
a Type 4 noun suffix meaning "my."

Also, {motlh}, when used as as adverbial, means "usually," not "unusually."

"Usually, my home is very noisy."

> Feed my sister my mother
> listening *Rush Limbaugh* not listening *Radio KAOS*.

*Radio KAOS* vI'IjtaHvIS *Rush Limbaugh* 'IjtaH
SoSwI' be'nI'wI' je'.

As I stated in my first response to Lisa Stapp's message, this should have 
been {je}, not {je'}.  It's a noun conjunction.  She made a typo.

"While I was listening to Radio KAOS, My mother and my sister were listening 
to Rush Limbaugh."

>  While not watching
> *Barney*, 3 girls quarrel unusually.

motlh Sol wej puqbe'pu' *Barney* bejtaHvIS.

Again, {motlh} is "usually."

Where'd you get the "not watching"?  {bej} means "watch."  Please see TKD 
6.2.2 for the proper use of a verb with {-vIS}.  {bejtaHvIS} "While they were 
watching."

Also, {puqbe'} is "daughter," not just "girl."  "Girl" is {be'Hom}.

Actually, this makes me notice another error which I didn't notice before.  
Because Lisa is talking about three daughters performing an action on one 
thing, this should get the prefix {lu-}.

motlh Sol wej puqbe'pu' *Barney* lubejtaHvIS.
[The] three daughters usually quarrel while they are watching Barney.

> We have three TV voices

wej ghogh HablI'mey wIghaj

As I pointed out in my previous post, this should be {DIghaj} (see the prefix 
chart on TKD p.33).

In a previous issue of HolQeD, we learn that {ghogh HablI'} can refer to a 
telephone ("voice data transceiving device").

"We have three telephones."

> and they
> alarm always.

'ej reH nughum.

More to the point, it means "And they always sound an alarm for us."  That's 
what the preifx {nu-} is doing here.  You could leave it off, and be just as 
clear (and in less muddy grammatical waters) by just saying

'ej reH ghum
And they always sound an alarm.

> Hate to feed children men we have old *yippy chihuahua*

*'yippy' chihuahua* qan wIghaj.

This was the end of the sentence.  It means "We have an old yippy chihuahua."

loDpu' puqpu' je muS.

This time Lisa spelled {je} correctly.  It is a noun conjunction meaning 
"and."  See TKD 5.3.

"It hates the men and the children."

> Voice *chihuahua* boil man-? my short when return in the good house.

juHmajDaq cheghDI' be'nI'wI' loDnal, pub *chihuahua*
ghogh.

I'm also not sure what Lisa meant.  I think she wrote {pub} instead of 
whatever verb she really meant.  Either that, or she was being figurative in 
some way.

{-maj} is also a Type 4 noun suffix meaning "our."  See TKD 3.3.4.  
{juHmajDaq} "in our house."

Where'd you get "short"?  We have the phrase {be'nI'wI' loDnal} "my sister's 
husband."  We haven't learned if Klingons have special words or phrases for 
"brother-in-law" or the like, so we must construct phrases like this.

"When my sister's husband returns to our home, the chihuahua's voice boils."

Whatever that means.

> Two days ago small everyone my family.

cha'Hu' mej HochHom qorDu'wIj.

{HochHom} has been used once by Okrand to mean "almost all."  However, when he 
used it, it came *after* the noun being modified.  If this is correct, this 
should be

cha'Hu' mej qorDu'wIj HochHom

You forgot the verb, {mej} "leave."

"Two days ago almost all of my family left."

> For a visit family person *Patric*
> took a trip to Kansas.

*Patrick* qorDu' SuchmeH, *Kansas*Daq leng.

{*Patrick* qorDu'} is an example of the possessive construction (TKD 3.4).  
This means "Patrick's family."

{-meH} should not always be translated literally as "for."  In this case, that 
word doesn't work.  Here, we can use "in order to," or just "to."

"In order to visit Patrick's family, they traveled to Kansas."

> Also, I/me *chihuahua* mother we enjoy that substitute.

tam 'e' wItIv SoS *chihuahua* jIH je.

{je} is once again being used as a noun conjunction.  It DOES mean "also," but 
only when it follows a verb.

Similarly, {tam} DOES mean "substitute," but in this context you need to 
remember its other definition, "be quiet."  "Substitute" doesn't make sense 
here, but "be quiet" does.

"Mother, the chihuahua and I enjoy the quiet."
Literally, "Mother, the chihuahua, and I enjoy that it is quiet."  Remember, 
{tam} must have a subject.  You can easily assume that one exists, like {juH} 
"home."  It's not really necessary to state it explicitly if you know what it 
is.

> Definently do it again soon.

tugh chuSqu'qa'.

This is not a command, it is a statement (there is no imperative prefix).  Do 
WHAT again?  "Be noisy" {chuS}.  See TKD 4.2.3 on how to use {-qa'}.

"Soon it resumes being very noisy."

We assume that she is talking about {juH} "home" resuming being very noisy.

> Sister -??.

yatlhqa' be'nI'.

{yatlh} is one of the new words Okrand gave us.  It means "be pregnant."

"Sister is pregnant again."

> Feed *Patric* *Leslie* seems to
> want big -??.

qorDu' tIn neHlaw' *Leslie* *Patrick* je

The fourth time she's used {je} as a noun conjunction.

"Leslie and Patrick seem to want a big family."

That was a good bit of translation, especially considering that you were 
working with a few terms which you didn't know (i.e. were not in TKD).

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97510.8


Back to archive top level