tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Nov 27 12:55:04 1997

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Re: KLBC Re: north, south, east, west and distances



At 09:53 97-11-27 -0800, Phil wrote:

}Now I'll try to translate the above paragraphs into Klingon. (Wish me
}luck ;)

The above is now chopped up below so I can look at it and your translation
at the same time.

}In my campaign, the ennemy doesn't speak the common language of the
}players.
}QujDaq ,  reHwIpu' Hol jatlhlaHtaHbe' jaghpu' .  

You've dropped the "my," and not used the best type-5 to say "in my campaign."
You're not meaning so much physically IN the campaign, as for the campaign.
You've missed the they-it prefix, and negated the wrong part of the verb.
{jatlhlaHtaHbe'} suggests that they can't speak it continuously.  You mean
that they continuously can't speak it.

QujwIjvaD reHwI'pu' Hol lujatlhlaHbe'taH jaghpu'.

}Hol SovQo' reHwIpu' chIch jIlo'chugh 'oH tlhaQqu' jIwuq.
}I've decided that it would be more fun if I actually use a
}language the players don't know. 

{SovQo'} means they *won't* know, as in they refuse to know.  {-Qo'} means
"don't" only in a negative imperative.  {yIHoHQo'} - don't kill. hen you are
simply saying that someone does did or will not in the future do something,
use {-be'}.  When they are being ordered not to, or refusing to do it, use
{-Qo'}.

Plural third person subject with a singualr third person object still needs
the {lu-} prefix.  Study those verb prefixes.

The adverb {chIch} goes before the OVS of the sentence. 

The object here is "a language that the players don't know."  To say this,
say "the players don't know a language," and then add {-bogh} to the verb of
that clause.  (TKD 6.2.3)

The verb {lo'} has a third person object, so you need the prefix {vI-} "I
use it."

I understand {'oH tlhaQqu'} is supposed to be "it is funny" but why?
Firstly if 'oH is the subject, it has to go after the verb, and secondly, in
the English expression 'it is funny' what does it represent?  I would
usually say {ghu'} for "the situation" in something like this.

Again on {wuq}, decide upon, you need a prefix that shows the verb has an
object.  (TKD 4.1.1)  Do you ned more explanation of how verb prefixes work?

And finally, when the object of a verb is another action (with the exception
of objects of {neH}) you need to use {'e'} (TKD 6.2.5).

Hol luSovbe'bogh reHwI'pu' vIlo'chugh tlhaQqu' ghu' 'e' vIwuq.

}"understand language" jatlhlaH wizard 'ach yajQo' latlh .
}The wizards will be
}able to cast "understand language" but the others will not. 

<spell> lujatlhlaH *wizard* 'ach luyajbe'taH latlh.

You know hay I added {lu-} and changed {-Qo'} to {-be'}.  I added {-taH}
because the idea is that the wizards will be able to say the spell but the
others will _go on_ not understanding it.  That's the continuous aspect.

}They will
}have to recognize some words from it or they'll have problems
}of communication.
}tlhIngan Hol mu'mey ghovnIS pagh Qum qay'naghmey ghaj chaH.

The sentence that in English is written "This or that" giving alternative
courses of action, with doing or not doing one implying the other, is in
Klingon written as "If you do/don't A then B" and not with "or."

You can use the word {puS} for "some."

"They'll have problems of communication" is a noun-centred phrase.  Better
tyo render it in verbs as: they won't be able to communicate perfectly, or
perhaps they won't be able to communicate at all.

tlhIngan Hol mu'mey puS ghovbe'chugh chaH vaj QumlaHchu'be'. 
If they don't recognize a few Klingon words they won't be able to
communicate completely.
tlhIngan Hol mu'mey puS ghovbe'chugh chaH vaj QumlaHbe'chu'
If they don't recognize a few Klingon words they won't be able to
communicate at all.

(See whay it matters where you but that {-be'}? :)

}ngebbe'nagh Doch chel neH Qub 'oH. ( I can't translate element, I use
}                                    thing and for realism I use notfakeism )
}I think it just adds an element of realism.

Again, a noun-centric cliche'.  Use of {-ghach} I'll not explain now,
because you don't need it here.  You can render this sentence in three words
in Klingon.

loQ ngebHa'moHlaw' neH

I think it just makes it somewhat real.

loQ - a bit
ngeb - false
ngebHa' - unfalse, disfalse -- real
ngebHa'moH - makes real
ngebHa'moHlaw' - apparently makes real, this puts in the uncertainty of "I
think."
neH - merely, just

}French joq English jatlhmo' chaH HolvaD jIlo' thlhIngan Hol.
}Since
}they all speak french and english, there was only Klingon left to be
}used as an other language. 

Normally we say {*France* Hol} to represent another language, to follow the
way the Klingons do it, but "French" means "France Hol" so I can deal.

Your English implies to me that they are all bilingual, but your Klingon
says that they all speak at least one of French and English.  Is this just
English being vague?  At any rate, a conjunction joining nouns goes AFTER
the nouns.

You've been doing pretty well on sentence order, but his one got away at the
end.

French English joq jatlhmo' chaH HolvaD tlhIngan Hol vIlo'nIS.

I don't really understand what you mean by "there was only Klingon left" so
I can't translate it.

}If they realize its klingon, then hopefully they will try to learn it
}and gain an advantage in the campaign.
}thllhIngan Hol lutlhojchugh chaH Do' ghoj 'oH lunID chaH 'ej advantage
}QujDaq Suqtah chaH pagh waQtaH Hol ratlhtaH
}Otherwise, the language barrier
}will remain.

I'm not sure whether you were getting tired of this or I am, but would you
mind rewriting this one incorporating the corrections from above?  Than I'll
correct it. 

Qov     [email protected]
Beginners' Grammarian                 



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