tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Dec 13 11:42:38 1999

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RE: KLBC: tlhIngan Hol vIqeq vIneH

jatlh De'vID:

> > You made a good attempt at it. I usually just say <De'wI' 
> > vIghun>, but I don't really like the whole "engineer" 
> > thing anyway when it applies to software design.
> 
> I work with a mixture of hardware/software, so <De'wI' 
> ghunwI'> is not an adequate term.  Has Marc Okrand 
> elaborated on the Klingon scientific terminology 
> (esp. computer terminology) at all since TKD 
> (i.e. in HolQeD)?

Here and there. There's quite a bit related to ships and weaponry in KGT.

> Incidentally, was <jonta'> a back-fit?  It seems to be composed 
> of <jon> + <ta'> (i.e. "captured").

Probably. I think <jonta'> came from Star Trek III, and there was a fair bit
of backfitting to come out of that film. Don't read too much into it,
though. There are all sorts of words and phrases in English that look like
they're related to other words and phrases but really have nothing to do
with them.

> I guess one can explain it as technology which the Klingons captured:
> 
> Klingon assault party: <jonta'!  jonta'!>
> We've captured it!  We've captured it!  
> (Clipped Klingon because they're excited.)
> 
> Commanding officer: <DochvamvaD nuq wIpong?>
> What should we call it?
> 
> Klingon assault party: <jonta'!  jonta'!>
> We've captured it!  We've captured it!  
> (or Engine!  Engine!)
>
> Commanding officer: <maj.  DochvamvaD <jonta'> wIpong.>
> Good.  We will call it a <jonta'> then.

Cute. Unlikely, but cute.

>>> pIj De'wI' vIghuntaH, 'ej vIDbogh De' Qobbogh
>>> De' ?joq? rur pongvam.
>>> So, I would like my Klingon name to be "De'vID".
>>> I often work with computers, and this name
>>> sounds like "belligerent, dangerous computer
>>> data".  (Hmm... maybe like a computer virus?)
>>> [Also in the above, is it ?joq? or ?qoj?, and
>>> does it go between or after the -bogh clauses?]
>> 
>> This is a very interesting question. Since you've 
>> repeated the noun, it's fine to use a noun 
>> conjunction like <joq> after both nouns. If you 
>> had not repeated the noun, <qoj> would work 
>> between the clauses. The interesting questions 
>> are: Can you use <qoj> as well if you repeat the
>> noun? Can you use <joq> if you don't? These 
>> require some thought.
> 
> One thing that I thought about as I read TKD is, how do you say
> "captain who hit the officer"?  "yaS qIppu'bogh HoD" could mean
> either "captain who hit the officer" or "officer who was hit
> by the captain", can't it?  Do you put 'e' on the subject to
> distinguish it, i.e. "yaS qIppu'bogh HoD'e'"?

Bingo. Captain Krankor first suggested this particular idea, and Okrand
agreed that it is a good way to disambiguate.

>> Very good first message. ghorgh tlhIngan Hol DaHaDchoH?
> 
> jav ben "The Klingon Dictionary" vIje'pu', 'ach vIHaDtaHbe'.
> = I bought TKD six years ago, but I did not study regularly.
> (Does "-be'" work like that on "-taH"?)

Indeed it does.

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