tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jul 15 11:23:28 1997
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Bon appetit!
- From: Steven Boozer <[email protected]>
- Subject: Bon appetit!
- Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 13:15:43 -0500 (CDT)
: >From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
: >
: >[email protected] on behalf of [email protected] wrote:
: >> -in the resaurant they translate "bon appetit" as something like peSop, but
: >> that would just mean EAT! (??)
: >
: >Sure! Roughly used in the same way by Klingons as "bon appetit" might be by
: >the French. Remember, this isn't a literal translation, but a
translation of
: >the *concept*, as used by the Klingon mind.
:
: ~mark
I always assumed the joke was that Klingons don't have the concept at all
and that's why the English translation "Bon appetit" is funny. I hear the
waitress saying <yISop!> in this scene. She just plunks the Terran's food
down in front of him saying simply, "Eat it!" and he asks "How?" etc. She
eventually has to remind him to "Eat them quickly!" (i.e. before they crawl
away) since he's been wasting time asking stupid questions.
Here's the relevant extract from my CK transcript:
yISop, tera'ngan
Bon appetit, Terran.
[lit. "Eat (it), Terran!" N.B. Some people heard *pe*Sop.]
chay' Soj vISop
How do I eat the food?
ghopDu'lIj yIlo'
Use your hands!
[sic! for ghopDu'lIj *tI*lo']
Dochvam nuq
What is this?
qagh DaSop
You are eating serpent worms.
vIH qagh
The serpent worms are moving!
nom yISop
Eat them quickly!
[N.B. *yI*Sop because qagh is grammatically singular]
<peSop> ("Eat!) only makes sense if the Terran was part of a group, which
wasn't mentioned on the tape. I know some people think this was (another)
error on Okrand's part, but frankly I don't hear <pe-> at all though I'll
listen to it again tonight.
Just some food for thought on a slow afternoon.
Voragh