RE: KLBC: Is third time charm?

["Andeen, Eric" <Eric.Andeen@Sequencia.com>]

jatlh runa:

> This is the third time I've sent these sentences.  They seem to have been
> disappearing.

cha'logh neH vIleghpu' jIH. This is only the second time I've seen them. I
was working on a reply when this message came.

> 1. I want to say "Taking our stand beneath the naked stars we fight 
> the enemy on behalf of the empire."

> Hovmey Huv bIngDaq maQamvIStaH wo'vaD jagh wISuv

> Can the word Qam be used metaphorically in this way?  Is it ok to 
> use the suffix -vIStaH to express a participle?

I don't have any problem with <Qam> here - it's not even really much of a
metaphor since you probably *are* physically standing. Since <-taH> is type
seven and <-vIS> is type nine, they have to go the other way around:
<maQamtaHvIS>. Otherwise, this is fine.

> 2. "We fight the enemy for the empire (to sieze the empire)."
> wo' wIjonmeH jagh wISuv

maj.

> 3. "We are ready to fight the enemy who attacked us."
> nuHIv bogh jagh wISuvrup

maj.

> 4. "We are fighting the enemy because they attacked us."
> nuHIvmo' jagh DISuvtaH

You've gone from singular to plural here with <jagh>. It might be better to
stick with one or the other the whole way through. Do you think of yourself
fighting the whole group as a unit or the individuals? That will determine
whether you want to use <DISuv> or <wISuv>. Also, I don't think the <-taH>
is necessary here.

> 4a. "We are fighting because the enemy attacked us."
> nuHIvmo' jagh maSuvtaH

You could also use <maSuvchuq> instead of just <maSuv>.

> 5. "There was a battle to the death to capture the ships."
> Dujmey jonmeH Suvlu'chu'

This is grammatically fine, but I have to *who* was fighting. I think
<maSuvchu'> would probably better here.

> 6. "My friends and I took on the whole foreign fleet."
> Hur'Iq yo' Hoch DISuv jIH juppu'wI' je

<Hoch> gets treated as singular in Klingon, so the prefix should be <wI->
rather than <DI->.

> 7. "Why did you do that?" (in response to the above sentence)
> qatlh 'e' bonID
> I used nID, try, because I couldn't think of another way to say "do."  

This is fine, but I would probably just ask <qatlh?> here for the whole
thing.

> 8. "If you drink too much of that white lightning will you be 
> able to fight when the enemy comes?"
> chechtlhutlhvatlh Datlhutlhqu'chugh HIvDI' jagh bISuvlaH'a'

majQa'! I was prepared to be very annoyed when I saw something like <'ul
chIS>. This sentence works quite well.

> pItlh

maj.


pagh
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