tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Aug 10 05:29:22 1999

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Re: KLBC: Verb for "Need"



Re: KLBC: Verb for "Need"

jatlh mark:
>You CAN always find SOMEthing to say, with enough explication.  The
>question is how well will it carry the nuances, including things like
>terseness.  "You ought to do X" is NOT identical in meaning with "I suggest
>you do X" nor with "If you do X, the situation will improve."

bIlughchu'. The translation I would actually use depends completely on the 
situation. If I wanted to say "You ought to brush your teeth frequently," I 
would not say {pIj Ho'meylIj DaSay'moH 'e' vIchup}; I might say something 
like {pIj Ho'meylIj DaSay'moHchugh, pIvchoH Ho'meylIj} or {pIvchoH 
Ho'meylIjmeH, pIj Ho'meylIj yISay'moH}. Obviously, these definitely doesn't 
mean "ought," but they both convey the idea that I'm trying to get across; 
namely, that you should brush your teeth a lot if you want to be healthy.

jatlh mark:
>It contains
>those meanings, but is not limited to them nor necessarily implies
>precisely those... and it's a whole lot shorter.  Doesn't mean your
>suggestions are worthless, but just remember that there's no such thing as
>a translation.  You're re-stating something in another language.  How you
>choose to restate it has an effect on your meaning.

jIQochbe'. But since Klingon doesn't have any concise, simple suffix or word 
that means the same thing as "ought," we have to pick out the meaning that we 
want and translate it into Klingon.

jatlh charghwI':
>My favorite version is, of course:
>
>bIvangbe'chugh vaj bIHegh!
>
>tlhIngan maH 'e' yIlIjQo'!

jang mark:
>bIvangchugh, 'uQ DaSop.  bIQubchugh, 'uQ Damoj!

bIvangbe'chugh, qIvonlIj vI'oy'qu'moH.

Couldn't resist. Just a little joke from another thread.

- DujHoD


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