tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jun 09 17:15:32 1997
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RE: KLBC
- From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: KLBC
- Date: Mon, 9 Jun 97 22:22:51 UT
[email protected] on behalf of [email protected] wrote:
> beginner aleret beginner alert
taghwI' yIghuH! taghwI' yIghuH! :)
Given that you've got KLBC as the subject line, I'm assuming that you've read
my introductory speech already (in one of its various, never formalized
incarnations). The only thing I ask, then, is this: please include an English
translation of what you're trying to say, so that if I can't figure out your
Klingon, I can compare it to your English.
> qechmey daHjaj mugh neh jiH
Looks like you're trying to say "Today I'm trying just translate ideas." Is
this right?
On a simple note, please remember to *always* capitalize {I}, {S}, {D} and
{H}. They are always capitalized. Once you get used to Klingon, you'll
notice how difficult it is to read Klingon with the wrong capitalization!
It looks like you have a basic understanding of Klingon sentence order.
Something important to remember: when you specify a time, like {DaHjaj}
"today," the time-word always comes at the beginning of the sentence (or
clause, if there's more than one). In this case, {DaHjaj} must be the first
word.
Next, a verb will usually have a prefix. Please see the chart on TKD page 33.
In some cases, of course, the verb will have the "null" prefix (indicated
with a 0). In these cases, no prefix will be added. However, every other
time, you must select from the chart of prefixes. Your subject is "I." Look
on the "I" row for Subject. The object is {qechmey}, which is "it, plural,"
which is "them." Cross-reference these two pieces. You get the prefix {vI-}.
Therefore, this prefix must go on the verb.
DaHjaj qechmey vImugh neH jIH.
Today I merely translate ideas.
If you meant to say "Today I want to translate ideas" (which I'm beginning to
suspect was what you really intended), it gets a bit trickier. "Wanting"
something is a whole new sentence. First you make a complete sentence: that
which you want. Then, you make another sentence saying you want it. See TKD
6.2.5 for a full description. Here's how it'd look for you:
DaHjaj qechmey vImugh vIneH
I want to translate ideas today.
Note that {jIH}, in any position, is always optional. I might have left it
in, saying
DaHjaj qechmey vImugh jIH vIneH jIH
but it tends to get redundant.
> tlhonDu'wij jib chip jiH
"I cut my hair my nostrils"???
I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean by talking about your nostrils.
Unless you mean you cut your nostril hairs?!? Hmmm, your nostril hairs *are*
on your head, so it *might* be represented by {jIb}. I wonder.
Well, let us assume that it is. Then, you need to add a verb prefix, as
before.
tlhonDu'wIj jIb vIchIp jIH
I cut my nostril-hairs.
Again, the pronoun is optional:
tlhonDu'wIj jIb vIchIp.
> sep'a' jiH'
Hmmm . . . let's lose that misplaced glottal stop on {jIH} to begin with.
Now, knowing that you have been forgetting the verb prefixes, you might have
either been trying to write {Sep'a' jIH} "I am a great region," or you might
have been asking {jISep'a' jIH?} "Do I breed?" I don't have the faintest idea
why you'd want to say either. Please tell me what you were trying to say.
> tlhaq luj jiH
"I lose chronometer"? Perhaps you are trying to say that you "misplaced" your
chronometer? Look in the Addendum of TKD. You'll find {chIl} "lose,
misplace." {luj} means "fail; lose a battle, contest."
So, "I lost my chronometer" is
tlhaqwIj vIchIlpu'
I don't know . . . I kinda like the {-pu'} on this sentence. Since you don't
know *exactly* when you lost it (how could you?), you just want to indicate
that the act of misplacing it is already over. See TKD 4.2.7. Note that you
could say this without the {-pu'}.
> jImolmey pup sop mosmey migh
This one really has me stumped! Please tell me what you had in mind. It
looks like you meant {jInmolmey} "projects." {moS} is a verb, not a noun, so
you cannot use it as such. It's looking a lot like "Evil compromises eat
exact projects," which sounds completely nonsensical to me.
--
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97439.9