tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jul 09 16:33:18 1997

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing



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

Re: KLBC: Qov's Challenge



[email protected] on behalf of Rolando Coto wrote:
> qatlh jor romuluSngan Duj?
> 
> nI'bogh lut 'oHbe'.

This is fine, though there's really no need to invoke the clumsy "to be" here.

nI'be' lut
The story is not long.

> cha'leS, <sseikea> pong romuluSngan Duj, qorwI',
> tlhIngan wo' 'el.

This is a little backwards.  Remember that the subject must come last.

In this case, it's difficult to say something like "ship which the Romulans 
name "sseikea."  When using a relative clause, you run out of places.  Break 
this down into two sentences:

romuluSngan DujvaD <sseikea>, qorwI', ponglu'.  cha'leS tlhIngan wo' 'el.
One names the Romulan vessel "sseikea," or Scavenger.  It entered the Klingon 
empire two days ago.

> QIpqu' romuluSnganpu' 'ej Hechaj luSovbe'.

Good!  You might want to use {vaj} instead of just {'ej}.

QIpqu' romuluSnganpu' vaj Hechaj luSovbe'.

This shows the causal relationship between the two sentences which was lost in 
the translation.  You could also use {-mo'} in there to do a similar thing.

> wa'leS
> neHmaHDaq <sseikea> lutu' tlhIngan toQDuj wamwI'.

When using names, please mark them with asterisks or something.  Otherwise we 
might not be able to figure out that this was a name at all.

Since {wamwI'} is singular in meaning here, you only need {tu'}.  Drop the 
{lu-}.

wa'leS neHmaHDaq *sseikea* tu' tlhIngan toQDuj *wamwI'*.

> romuluSngan Duj rI'
> tlhIngan HoD 'ej SIbI' mej 'e' ra'.

One wonders if {ra'} is a verb of saying.  If it is, you'd need to quote 
directly:

SIbI' yImej ra'
He commanded them, "Leave immediately!"

> wa'ben DIvI' DujDaq tlhIngan Hol
> mu'ghom nIH romuluS HoD, 'ej tlhIngan HoDvaD <Hab SoSlI' Quch!> jatlh.
> QeHqu'choH tlhIngan HoD, 'ej SIbI' <sseikea> Qaw' baHwI' 'e' ra' tlhIngan
> HoD.

Again, in case {ra'} is a verb of saying, this would be

SIbI' *sseikea* yIQaw' baHwI' ra' tlhIngan HoD
The Klingon captain commanded the gunner "Destroy the 'sseikea' immediately!"

> romuluSngan Duj jormoH cha.

maj.

> Why did the Romulan ship explode?
> 
> "It's not a long story. Two days ago, a romulan ship called the <sseikea>,
> the Scavenger, entered the Klingon Empire. The romulans were so dumb that
> they didn't know where they were going. Yesterday, the Klingon cruiser
> "Hunter" found the <sseikea> near the Neutral Zone. The Klingon captain
> hailed the romulans, and ordered them to get out at once. The romulan
> captain, who had stolen a Klingon Dictionary from a Federation ship one
> year ago, said "your mother has a smooth forehead!" to the Klingon captain.
> He got so mad that ordered the gunner to immediately destroy the <sseikea>.
> The torpedoes destroyed the romulan ship."

-- 
SuStel                                       -- qoH vuvbe' SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97522.1


Back to archive top level