tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Feb 19 11:40:10 1999
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Re: Hello
: Couldn't yu use something like
: I give my service (close as i could see to volunteer)
:
: B'Elanna
Ah... but there's no known noun for "service". We have only the verb
{toy'} "serve" (e.g. a master, not to be confused with {jab} "serve
[food]") and the two derived nouns {toy'wI'} "servant" and {toy'wI''a'}
"slave":
wo' toy'taHvIS Hegh 'e' tul Hoch tlhIngan
To die while serving the Empire is the hope of every Klingon. TKW
DIHIvbej [pagh] qo'chajDaq toy'wI''a' DImoj. (??)
Attack or be slaves in their world. ST6
"I give you my service" might be translated {qatoy'meH jInob'egh} "I give
myself in order to serve you}, which is clumsy to say the least. {qatoy'
vIneH} "I want to serve you" is simpler, but it doesn't have the formal
connotations of "volunteer my services"; neither does it sound like
something a Klingon warrior would ever willingly say.
Translation is an art form and each solution presents its own problems in
using the available tools. Which for some of us is part of the fun!
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons