tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Mar 04 19:06:47 1997

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RE: KLBC : My first try......

jatlh Mike Burrows:

> After talking to one of the great dudes here last night I was prompted to
> take my first steps out and try my hand at translating..... I chose to do a
> bridge scene and it is general discussion between the bridge crew.... ok be
> brutal after all no pain no gain!

'oy'be'lu'chugh Qapbe'lu'!

Be sure to include an English version of what you're trying to say, until 
you've gotten used to the language a bit.  If you have said it badly, I may 
not be able to figure out what you were trying to say.

> SETTING : bridge of a toQDuj tlhIngan, which is chasing after a renegade
> ship.

When using words like {tlhIngan} or {tera'ngan}, don't try to use it like an 
adjectival verb.  Just put it in front of the noun.  So, it's {tlhIngan 
toQDuj}, not {toQDuj tlhIngan}.

> DeghwI' -> "Daq Duj 'urwI' wIpaw wa' tupDaq, HoD."

Hmmm . . . I think you tried to say, "We will arrive at the traitor's ship in 
one minute."

There's a bit to work out here.  Let's do this in parts.

"We will arrive at the traitor's ship."

To say "traitor's ship," you must use a possessive construction as detailed in 
TKD 3.4.  {'urwI' Duj}.  Then, add the {-Daq} suffix onto it to get {'urwI' 
DujDaq} "at the traitor's ship."

Now, "we arrive" is {mapaw}.  There's no object, so you don't use {wI-}.  
Nouns with {-Daq} are not objects (or subjects), so they don't count.  And 
since the locative phrases (with {-Daq}) go before the Obj-Verb-Subj part of 
the sentence, we get

'urwI' DujDaq mapaw.
We arrive at the traitor's ship.

I didn't try to use the future tense, because Klingon doesn't HAVE tense.  
(See TKD 4.2.7.)  Rather, this will be indicated by the time context.

Now, how to do the "in one minute" thing?  Well, in Klingon, unless you are 
naming the time that something happens (like "today" or "now" or "at 2:00"), 
you'll have to find a way to say it.  There is no specific way it must be 
said.  You DON'T use {-Daq}, however.  That indicates a spatial reference; it 
talks about a point in space, not in time.

A common way to do this is to use the verb {qaS} "occur."  Take the example 
TKD p.171: {qaStaHvIS wa' ram loS SaD Hugh SIjlaH qetbogh loD} "Four thousand 
throats may be cut in one night by a running man."  We've got {qaStaHvIS wa' 
ram} for "in one night."  Literally, it means "while one night occurs."

So, we can do the same thing for "in one minute."  {qaSpu'DI' wa' tup} "as 
soon as one minute has occurred."  You'll need to understand the suffix {-pu'} 
here, look it up in TKD 4.2.7.

So, finally, we get,

qaSpu'DI' wa' tup, 'urwI' DujDaq mapaw.
We will arrive at the traitor's ship in one minute.

> HoD Duj -> "Hotlhta' DoS HInobchu'

Using the noun-noun form in TKD 3.4, "ship's captain" is {Duj HoD}.  The 
possessor is first, and the possessee is second.

I'm not sure what his sentence is here.  It looks like the second part is 
supposed to be "give me a target."  This might be okay, if Klingon can use 
this idiom.  If not, something more appropriate might be {DoS yIngu'} 
"Identify a target!"

I have no idea what {Hotlhta'} is doing there, unless you mean {yIHotlh!}.  
Use punctuation to clarify this!

yIHotlh!  DoS yIngu'!

> 'ej rI'lI' Se' yIpoS"

"Hailing frequency" is in the Addendum of TKD: {rI'Se'}.

You've said "Be open the hailing frequency."  In order to say "Open a hailing 
frequency," you must use {-moH}.  See TKD 4.2.4.

Unfortunately, "open" might also be an idiom not in use in Klingon when 
referring to hailing frequencies.  Why not choose something else?

rI'Se' yIchu'
Activate hailing frequency.

Or,

rI'Se' yIlo'
Use the hailing frequency.

> ya -> "luq, qaH"
> QumpIn -> "luq, qaH"
> ya -> "botjanDaj pepta' 'ej nuHmeychaj qeqta' bIH, qaH.

majQa'!  There are only a couple of problems here.  First, "aim" is {Qeq}.

Second, what exactly is the subject of these sentences?  {bIH} refers to 
plural things incapable of using langauge.

Let's say that it's "the ship."  "It [the ship] has raised it's shields and it 
[the ship] has aimed its weapons."  You now have the correct subject and verb 
prefixes.

The last problem is another idiom.  "Raising" shields probably doesn't occur 
in Klingon.  Rather, use {chu'} "activate."

botjanDaj chu'ta' 'ej nuHmeyDaj Qeqta'.
It has activated its shields and aimed its weapons.

> He qep tlha'lI'"

Interesting choice for "interception course," but it doesn't really work.  You 
at least need a {-meH} in there.  Here's how I'd say it:  {ghommeH He} "course 
for the purpose of encountering."

I'm not sure I like {tlha'} for being on course, but I can't exactly say why.  
I'd rather say

ghommeH He ghoSlI'
It's proceeding on an interception course.

This is, after all, what the verb {ghoS} was intended for!  One of its glosses 
is "follow (a course)."

> HoD Duj -> "botjan tIpep, wIy yI'ang"

I think {botjan} counts as singular, so you cannot use the plural object 
imperative prefix.  I think we should stick with {botjan yIchu'}.

Also, there's a canonical phrase {wIy yIcha'} for "Activate tactical display." 
 I'm not sure that {wIy yI'ang} is wrong, but it feels funny.

botjan yIchu', wIy yIcha'.

> QumpIn -> "HoD, rI'lI' Se' poSta' "

"Hailing frequency open" would come out, according to our above logic, as

rI'Se' vIchu'ta'
I have opened the hailing frequency.

Remember your sentence order!  You got it backwards here.

> HoD Duj -> "naDev maHmeH wIchegh"

Well, there's no object for {chegh}, so it'd have to be {machegh}.  But I 
don't know what you mean by "In order that we are here, we return."  This is 
one of those times that I need to consult your English original.

> ya -> "HoD, So'lI'qu' ghaH!"

"He is PROCEEDING to cloak!"  Why is proceeding emphasized?  Perhaps you meant 
{So'qu'lI'}?

Also, I don't know if I'd choose {ghaH} here.  I'd probably stick with using 
the ship as the subject.  So make it {'oH}.

So'qu'lI' 'oH!
It's proceeding to CLOAK!

> HoD Duj -> "QumpIn, QumwI' Se' yISoQmoH"

Same idiom problem.  I'd say

rI'Se' yIchu'Ha'.

> QumpIn -> "luq, qaH"
> ya -> "cha'DIch Duj 'elq' mIchvam. pIvlob law Hoch pIvlob puS vItaH "

Woah!  I don't know what you said!  Remember your sentence order!

When using {-DIch}, the ordinal must come AFTER the noun it modifies.  So, 
"second ship" is {Duj cha'DIch}, not {cha'DIch Duj}.

I haven't the slightest idea what you were trying to do with that {law'/puS}.

> HoD Duj -> "nuq?"

Look at TKD p.70.  You'll find that {chay'} by itself means "How did that 
happen," or "What the --."  I feel that this is much more appropriate than 
{nuq}.  {nuq} is asking for a noun which replaces it.

> ya -> "Duj DI'vI' ghaH"

Again, don't reverse {DIvI' Duj}, spell {DIvI'} correctly, and use {'oH} 
instead of {ghaH}.  Obviously, a ship is not a him or a her (well, it is in 
English, but not in Klingon).

> HoD Duj -> "maj! Suvmeypu' wIghoS!"

Huh?  {Suv} is a verb, not a noun, yet you have what look like two noun 
suffixes on it.  Then, those two suffixes are of the same type, which means 
they can't both go on the same word at once!  Finally, I have no idea what you 
meant to say!

> well that's about it.... I hope it isn't too long and too bad that I become
> a bother.....

qay'be'.  'ach tlhIngan Hol DIvI' Hol'e' je DangeHnISqu'!

> Mike ( a.k.a. DaQ'qan )

So how do you pronounce your name?  How do you put a glottal stop between {Q} 
and {q}?

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97174.5

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