tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jun 26 17:49:51 1997

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KLBC:Re: nuqneH - cha'wIgh



David Trimboli wrote:
jatlh cha'wIgh:

> My first hello to fellow klingon learners.

Hi!  I'm SuStel, the list's Beginners' Grammarian.  Perhaps by now
you've
ready my BG intro, but if not, here's the deal.  If you want some help
from
me, whether as a beginner's question or just looking over some simple
grammar,
then just put "KLBC" in the subject line.  This will alert me to a
message
needing my help, and it will help keep off too many conflicting
opinions at
once.  Feel free to start up a conversation with anybody under KLBC!

Two important web sites, if you haven't already visited them:

The Klingon Language Institute
http://www.kli.org

this list's FAQ
http://www.thomtech.com/~dspeers/klingon/faq.htm

> I have a klingon dictionary but have retained little of its content
in
> the 2-3 weeks I've had it.

That's okay.  The key to learning Klingon is practice.

> How abouta more whimsical translation - after all klingons have a
sense of
humour -
> could someone suggest a translation of "insult the porcelain"

We don't a have a Klingon word for "porcelain."  And just saying {puch
yItIch}
"insult the toilet" seems to lose the effect of this phrase.

> I chose my name from a sound I heard on star trek (maybe it was
vulqan
> rather than klingon) but it should translate as 'double genius' - no
I'm
> not conceited.

Well, {cha' wIgh} means "two geniuses."  I suppose the closest you
could get
might be {cha'logh wIgh jIH} "I am a genius twice," but even this
sounds
silly.  I'd just go for the phrase {wIghna' jIH} "I am a definite
genius."

> Why are vertically challenged people nicknamed lofty? Why
> are men with red hair nicknamed blue?
> I welcome all comments and constructive criticism.

You want to translate these into Klingon?  They don't even translate
from
Austrailain English to American English!  I've never heard anyone
nicknamed
"Lofty" or "Blue," let alone short people or red-haired people.

Trying to translate whimsical things is tough.  Since many such
phrases
require puns, you're going to lose the pun in the translation.

--
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97483.7

nuqneH  Thank you for your comments and examples SuStel :-))
I like the sound of cha'wigh so I'll keep it, even if its meaning is a little off the mark.
I have translated insult the porcelain as "vItIch chISHey Doch" (please read the other email with that title for further explanation) which I think gets about as close to the original meaning as possible with the limited vocabulary of klingon.
I agree that translating the whimsical is tough but I have such a boring job that I need something to be a bit of a challenge in my life.
As an aside I will explain that I work for Australia Post as a mail sorter.
I find it hard to believe that you haven't heard of blue or lofty being used that way. How about the horizontally unchallenged being called slim?
jIyIn Soch HuDmey
This phrase is supposed to tell you all where I live. In English there would be an in or at somewhere there : is it needed in Klingon?

cha'wIgh



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