tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jul 23 08:00:07 1999
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Re: jIDach (KLBC)
- From: [email protected] (Christiane Scharf)
- Subject: Re: jIDach (KLBC)
- Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 16:58:44 +0200
jatlh Ed:
>loD be' ghap SoHchugh, SaHmeH tlhIH jIbel.
Could you please include a translation for everything? I'll try to guess
what you meant here. You were going for something like: "Whether you're a
man or a woman, I'm pleased that you're here/ that you care", right?
The first part of the sentence is pretty good. The only problem is the "or"
part. It literally says "If you're <either> a man or a woman <and nothing
else>..." I think it's better to write two clauses: {loD SoHchugh pagh be'
SoHchugh} - "If you're a man or if you're a woman..."
The second part contains a few errors. You said: "In order that
he/she/it/they is/are present/ care(s) -- you (pl.) -- I'm pleased"
The first important thing is the "you". While English doesn't distinguish
between singular and plural, Klingon has two forms: {SoH} is the singular
form, i.e. you're talking to one person. {tlhIH}is the plural form, i. e.
you're talking to several persons (at least two). Also note that pronouns
don't need to be used if the situation is clear. See TKD chapter 5.1 for
more information.
Then you need to watch those prefixes. It' important to know who is doing
something to whom. Reread TKD sections 4.1.1 and 4.1.2.
As important as the prefixes are the suffixes. "I'm pleased that you are
present" is not a final connection, but a causal one. My presence is the
_reason_ for your being pleased. The verb suffix you need for this is
{-mo'}. It's in the TKD Addendum, section 4.2.9.
Now try to write your sentence again, considering the hints I gave you. If
you wanted to say something totally different, try to say that again and
provide a translation.
>
>
>lam tuj juSmeH lumI'taH qeqpu'be'bogh SuchwI'mey.
>visiters who were not prepared danced across the hot sand,
>
bImughmo' jIbel.
Visitors are capable of language. You need the plural marker {-pu'}(unless
you want to imply that they are scattered about).
{qeqpu'be'bogh SuchwI'pu'} is ok for "visitors who were not prepared". This
would have been a nice place for the suffix {-rup}, too, but it would need a
bit of recasting.
{lam} is literally "dirt", but we don't have a much better word for "sand".
Also consider {yav}.
{juS} is used in the sense of overtking/passing someone with a car or while
you're running etc. You can't overtake sand. When there is more than one
definition in the dictionary, they are treated as restrictive, not additive.
For "dance across the sand" "dance on the sand" would do just fine, I'd say.
That's easy to say and doesn't require much recasting. If you want to say
they danced continuously, {-taH} is alright, if they just danced across the
sand once, leave it out.
All in all you get: {yav tujDaq mI'(taH) qeqpu'be'bogh SuchwI'pu'}
>yIQmeH luneH neH bIQ bIrDaq.
>they only want to soak in the cold water.
Word order: Nouns with type-5 suffixes (except {-'e'}) come _before_ the
O-V-S construction.
Another problem is that {-meH} clause. Either you say "they want to get wet
in the cold water" or "in order to get wet, they go into the cold water".
Your sentence is a combination of both.
For the first possibility you don't need a {-meH} clause. It's a
sentence-as-object construction, but you have to remember the extra role of
the verb {neH}(TKD 6.2.5). For the idea of "getting wet", the perfect tool
is the suffix {-choH}(TKD 4.2.3).
For the second possibility, the {-meH} clause is fine, but you should add a
{-choH}on {yIQ} here, too. The second part of the sentence would be
different, of course.
Now try to say the two sentences I suggested in Klingon!
HovqIj
-- temporary BG