tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Mar 20 18:03:36 1997

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RE: KLBC Dax & nuq jI Hech

jatlh Qo'NeS:

> nuqneH!
> jI laD "nongqu' Dax
> jI nong neH Wor'Iv qu'
> Dax be' HoSghaj
> jI neH rur
> Sov tlhIngan neH

Ack!  I'm afraid I don't understand you at all.  {jI-} is not a word, it's a 
prefix; see TKD 4.1.  And remember that Klingon sentence order is 
Obj-Verb-Subj.  It looks like you're not following this order.

What I DO like is that you're trying to say your own sentences, not just 
trying to translate someone else's.  That's good.  However, until you become 
more proficient in the language, you'll HAVE to send along the English 
translation of what you mean to say, so I can see what you were trying to say 
and I can help you.  Without knowing your intentions, I cannot correct you.

> je

{je} seperates nouns and comes after the last noun.  {'ej} seperates sentences 
(and clauses).  {'ej} would be the appropriate choice, but even it is not 
necessary.  Just go on to the next paragraph.

> jI HoH cha' yu'
> nuq Hech *qaStaHvIS* je *par'mach*

I don't know about the first sentence, but in the second one you were 
apparently trying to say "What do {qaStaHvIS} and "par'mach" mean?"  {Hech} 
doesn't mean "mean" as I have just used it in this sentence, it means 
"intend."  {jISop 'e' vIHech} "I intend to eat," or "I intend that I eat."  
The gloss "mean" is also in the dictionary, because one might translate this 
sentence as "I mean to eat."

A good way to translate this is similar to how one would say it in Spanish: 
"Como se dice '...'."  (Sorry, I don't know which special characters will make 
it across the Internet.)  Think of the sentence like this: "While one speaks 
English, how does one translate {qaStaHvIS} and "par'mach"?   (By the way, the 
Klingon word is pronounced {parmaq}.)

"English" jatlhlu'taHvIS, chay' <qaStaHvIS> <parmaq> je lumughlu'?

(Also, notice that {je} comes AFTER the words it connects?)

In response: {qaStaHvIS} is the verb {qaS} "occur" with the suffixes {-taH} 
"continuously" and {-vIS} "while" attached to it.  It comes out as "while 
<subject> occurs."  For example,

qaStaHvIS may'
while the battle occurs

Sometimes, it's best not to use {qaS} but choose a more appropriate verb.  For 
example, instead of the above sentence, I might have said

QojtaHvIS
while they are making war

As for {parmaq}, I don't know if the word has been added to charghwI''s New 
Words list yet.  It means something like "love," but its exact meaning and its 
grammatical role are uncertain.  It's probably a noun.  It is a word which 
Worf has used several times on Deep Space Nine, and which Marc Okrand was kind 
enough to retro-fit to Klingon (although we already had {bang}).  He was 
obviously as displeased with this nonsense word as the rest of us, because he 
very carefully explained that the word is very mysterious so far.

> (during)(trouble)
> jI jatl "be'nI' mubbeq tlhIngan jIH"
> Hech *I am in the Klingon Strike Force*

Well, if you want to say "during trouble," it will come out as {qaStaHvIS 
Seng}.  But if you know what is causing the trouble, you can use {Seng} as a 
verb (which it is), and not bother with {qaS}.  For example,

SengtaHvIS jagh mangghom
while the enemy's army makes trouble

I'm not sure why you added the word {be'nI'} in there.  Are you talking to 
your sister?  Also, you misspelled {Hubbeq}.  This is "Defense Force," not 
"Strike Force."

If you want to indicate that you are in the Klingon Defense Force, you should 
probably indicate what your function is in that organization.  Klingon likes 
knowing exactly what you do, rather than explaining your state.  For example,

tlhIngan HubbeqvaD jISuv
I fight for the Klingon Defense Force

tlhIngan HubbeqvaD Dujmey vItI'
I repair ships for the Klingon Defense Force.

See?  Explaining your function in an organization is easy.  Otherwise, you've 
got to resort to something like {tlhIngan Hubbeq vImoj} "I joined the Klingon 
Defense Force," which sounds much more wishy-washy in this context.

For that last sentence, remember how I explained {Hech} above.  Also remember 
your sentence order!

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97218.3

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