tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 11 09:03:35 1998

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RE: klbc - my attempt at klingon

lab Denise:
> 
> nuqneH, 
> 
> I decided to drop in unexpectedly again,
> but this time, I'm attempting some klingon.... 

maj.

> I'm starting with the simple things first.
> I've been learning how to say the phrase "I am insane" in several 
> different languages--I know how to say this in at least 7 so far. 
> I've been trying to translate it to Klingon, modifying the 
> phrase to "I 
> am crazy" --- 
> jiH maw' 
> --- how close was I?
> The trouble is, I have no idea how to conjugate the verb "I 
> am". Does it 
> exist in the klingon language? Or can anyone help me with this?
> Thanks.
> Qapla'~~~

You got the vocabulary right, but you need to work on the sentence
structure. Klingon does not have a verb meaning "I am" (which is a form of
"to be"), but it does not need one. Sentences using forms of "to be" like "I
am" in English basically come in two flavors: "I am <noun>", and "I am
<adjective>". Klingon handles these two cases quite differently. "I am
<noun>" turns into < <noun> jIH>, using the pronoun as a sort of stand in
for a "real" verb. This is discussed in TKD section 6.3.

"I am <adjective>" is interesting: Klingon doesn't even HAVE adjectives.
What it does have is a bunch of verbs (which we call "stative" verbs on the
list) which "describe a state or qualtiy", and often correspond to an
English adjective. For example, <maw'> is defined as "be crazy (v)". Stative
verbs are often defined as "be (something)" in the glossary. This is
discussed in TKD section 4.4.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's look at your setnence: "I am
insane". The verb here is "be insane", and the subject is "I". The basic
Klingon sentence structure, described in TKD 6.1, is object-verb-subject,
and you have to put the right prefix on the verb (TKD 4.1). Looking it up in
the table, the verb prefix for subject "I" and no object is <jI->. What you
wind up with is:

jImaw' jIH

There is just one more thing: prounouns for subjects and objects are always
optional. Since the verb prefix gives the same information about the subject
and object as a pronoun would, the pronoun is usually redundant. It's never
wrong to use a pronoun, and they can sometimes make a sentence clearer, but
pronouns are usually left out. What you wind up with (again) for your
sentence is then:

jImaw'

Kind of cool, huh. Just one word - two syllables - makes a full sentence.


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian

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