tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Mar 21 19:50:33 1997

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RE: KLBC Dax & nuq Hech jIH

jatlh Qo'neS:

> Pardon me SuStel. I am only a beginner {{{:-)

That's why I'm here.

> translation to terra'ngan Hol is:

> > > nuqneH!
> Hello

Remember, {nuqneH} is NOT "hello."  It means, "What do you want?"  It's called 
the only Klingon greeting, or one of the very few Klingon greetings.  Some on 
the list believe that it can be used in exactly the same way as we use 
"hello": purely as a conversation starter.  Others believe that it is meant 
literally: you say {nuqneH} when someone shows up and you want to find out 
what he wants.

But it doesn't *mean* hello.

> > > jI laD "nongqu' Dax
> I read "nongqu' Dax"

Okay.  If that's what you read, then it's the object of the sentence "I read." 
 And since Klingon is Object-Verb-Subject, we get:

<nongqu' Dax> vIlaD.

> > > jI nong neH Wor'Iv qu'
> I would like to be passionate with Worf

You've got to recast this to put in a form that Klingon can use.  English 
phrases which use "with" tend to be untranslatable directly into Klingon; you 
have to reword the sentence:

manong jIH wo'rIv je vIneH
I want Worf and me to be passionate.
Literally, "I want Worf and I are passionate."

> > > Dax be' HoSghaj
> Dax is a powerful female

For <noun> is <noun>, you need to use the "to be" form in TKD 6.3.  You use 
the appropriate pronoun, put it between the two nouns, and add {-'e'} to the 
subject, which comes last.

be' HoSghaj ghaH *Dax*'e'.
Dax is a powerful female.

> > > jI neH rur
> I want to be like her

Here's another "want" sentence; better read up on it in TKD 6.2.5.

You've got the right idea, you need to use {rur}.

ghaH vIrur vIneH.
I want to be like her.
("I want I resemble her.")

> > > Sov tlhIngan neH
> She knows how to behave like a klingon

This is a bit harder.  The easiest way to do this is to simply explain that 
she *can* behave like a Klingon.  This is probably exactly what you mean, so 
let's say

tlhIngan DalaH ghaH
She can behave as a Klingon.

The word {Da} can be terribly useful at times.  It's in the Addendum.

> > > jI HoH cha' yu'
> I will kill off two questions here

That's a good, Klingon way of thinking about it, but it's also an English 
expression.  Since there is no noun for "question" in Klingon, you really 
can't say this.  You could simply say,

cha' mu' vIyajbe'.  HIQaH!
I don't understand two words.  Help me!

> > > nuq Hech *qaStaHvIS* je *par'mach*
> what do *qaStaHvIS*  *par'mach* mean?
> > 
> I gathered from the TKD that {Hech} DID "mean what do you mean?"

Nope.  TKD: {Hech} "intend, mean to."

TKW:

Hem tlhIngan Segh 'ej maHemtaH 'e' wIHech.
Klingons are a proud race, and we intend to go on being proud.

Ha'DIbaH DaSop 'e' DaHechbe'chugh yIHoHQo'.
Do not kill an animal unless you intend to eat it.

That is, I believe, every known example of {Hech} in canon, and it means 
"intend, mean to."

> > 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 in a DS9 episode title isn't it?

Yes, but Marc Okrand has defined it a little for us, on the forum on MSN.  But 
just a little.

> there is a role playing and general lunacy club called The Klingon
> Strike Force!

Well, if {HIv} really is a noun (a pet theory of mine based on words in Star 
Trek V which no one else seems to believe), then you could say

tlhIngan HIvbeq
Klingon Attack Force,

which is about the closest you can get.

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97221.1

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