tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Mar 08 15:24:48 1997

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RE: KLBC: New words -- magic, magician

jatlh T'Lark:

> > (Wait a minute!  You've named yourself after a traitorous Klingon from the 

> > CD-Rom!)
> 
> jIHvaD T'Lark vIpongbe' jIH.  jIHvaD 'oH pong jupwI'.  'ach tlhIngan pong
> 'oHbe', vulqangan pong 'oH.  chalDaq bombogh tera' Ha'DIbaH 'oH <Lark>'e', 
ej
> vulqangan be' pong moHaq 'oH <T'>'e'.

jIyaj.  Do'Ha'.  DaH qaHoHlaHbe'.  {{:-)

>  >> Not every language has a single, simple word for every concept.  If I 
had to
> >> quote Clarke's Law to a Klingon, I would define a word from DIvI' Hol and 

> >> then use that.
> 
> > If the Klingons generally don't believe in magic in the same sense that we 

> > tend to, then this is the way to go!  [...]  It does, of course, require a 

> > knowledge of the English word.
> 
> No, it only requires a knowledge of the concept.  If I'm defining a word 
only to
> use it in another definition, then the word itself is merely a placeholder.  
I
> could just as well say {Doch wIqelbogh} in both places.

I see what you're saying.  Yes, if you actually say to the Klingon: {DaH 
SoHvaD <magic> vIQIj . . .} and explain it, THEN say the Clarke's Law 
sentence, no problem.

> >> wanI'mey SeHlu'meH qa' Dep qa' HoS ghap lura'lu'chugh, <magic> lo'lu'.
> 
> > Well, to say "nonhumanoid's spirit," you say {Dep qa'}, not {qa' Dep}.  
[...]
> 
> I wanted 'spirit being or spirit power'.  I suppose if I want one noun to 
modify
> another, but not in a possessive sense, I should use a compound noun rather 
than
> a noun-noun construction.

I don't know if that would have made it any clearer.  {qa'Dep} doesn't make 
much sense to me, even after you've explained it!  I don't think it's an 
indication of lack of intelligence on my part (!), so I'll assume it's a 
hindsight word.

Why not just say {qa'}?

> > You've said, "In order that one controls events, if one has either a 
> > nonhumanoid's spirit or a strong spirit, one uses magic."
> > I'm not quite sure *why* you said this, if this is what you meant.
> 
> I meant, "If, in order that one controls events, one commands a spirit being 
or
> spirit power, then one is using magic."  Let's make that:
> 
> wanI'mey SeHlu'meH qa'Dep qa'HoS ghap lura'lu'chugh, <magic> lo'lu'.
> 
> jatlh <Clarke's Law>: 'Itlhqu'chugh jan, vaj <magic> rurchu'.

These seem to work.

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97185.2

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