tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 15 13:31:28 1997
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Re: what is the klingon word ?
>Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 18:06:19 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Alan Anderson <[email protected]>
>
>[email protected]:
>>I would like to know the klingon version of these:
>
>If you don't mind my asking...whatever for?
>
>>"you are born in a barn"
>
>There's no simple Klingon word for barn, but I might use {Du' qach}
>"farm's building" if the context were appropriate.
>
>{Du' qachDaq bIbogh} "You are born in a farm's building."
More accurately, "bIDochqu'law'." Or did you mean "born in a barn"
literally? Be careful. In a very real sense, it isn't possible to
translate words, only concepts. If you are not clear with the concept, you
won't get good answers.
>>"squirrel nut zippers"
>
>I have no idea what this means. Is it a name? Names don't translate well.
>There's no native Klingon word for squirrel; it's not a Klingon animal. We
>also don't know how to translate "zipper". Assuming "nut" means the food,
>and not a crazy person, its translation is {naHlet}.
Maybe it's a command to hoard nut zippers in hidden places, squirrelling
them away.
>>"behave yourself"
>
>If you mean "behave well" or "be nice", I'd suggest rephrasing this.
>
>{batlh yIvang} "act honorably."
Or maybe yIDochHa' or yIDochQo' with perhaps a -choH thrown into the
appropriate places.
>You also sent a note with the following cryptic line:
> <A HREF="aol://2719:2-2-klingons">klingons</A>
>Is it supposed to mean something? I've never heard of the aol: protocol,
>and 2719:2-2-klingons certainly isn't a DNS address in the normal sense.
I wondered about that too. Maybe it's a biblical reference, like
Numbers 1:3?
~mark