tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Feb 02 07:07:53 1999

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RE: Hi, I'm new here...



Welcome to the list, John. My name is pagh, and I am the current Beginners'
Grammarian. It's my job to help beginners learn Klingon. Whenever you have a
post you want help with, mark it for my attention with a KLBC in the subject
line.

jatlh John Halliday:

> My name is John and I live in Calgary, Canada.  But enough 
> about me.  I am attempting to embark on a project to 
> translate human colloquialisms into the tlhingan Hol. 
> I've only got two so far:

Qob jInmolvam......  It's generally not a good idea to try to translate
colloquialisms. They often have strange or incorrect (English) grammar, and
since there's way too much culture wrapped up in them, translation is not
usually straightforward. ... (Lecture mode off) ... Fortunately, the two you
chose *are* pretty straightforward, and have enough independent meaning that
they still make sense in an alien language. When you chose other phrases to
translate, continue to choose wisely.

> bImoHqu' 'ej DutuQmoHmo' SoSlI' verengan bIrur
> (this was as close as I could get to "You're ugly 
> and your mother dresses you funny!")

Since the verb <rur> has an object - <verengan> - the prefix should be
<Da->. Other than that, good job. Part of the humor of the English phrase is
that "your mother dresses you funny" just sounds funny. The most literal
translation would probably be <... 'ej DutuQHa'moH SoSlI'>, which almost
completely loses the humor. Your version works perfectly.

> Deghmey'e' wIghajnIsbe' jay'
> (Badges! We don't need no stinking badges!)

As SuStel already pointed out, the prefix on <ghaj> should properly be
<DI->. The English repeats the word "badge" for effect, and I would also try
to do that in the Klingon: <Deghmey! Deghmey'e' ...>

> Like any other struggling writer, I am always looking for 
> feedback.  If you can find a better way to translate these 
> phrases, or have other phrases that have been (or need to be) 
> translated, drop me a line.


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian



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