tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jul 29 12:07:52 1999

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RE: KLBC: jIlIH'egh



Welcome to the list, Bill. You've obviously seen the BG spiel, so I will
spare you.

jatlh Bill Longton:

> Greetings!

> I'm really brand new to the list. I'm pretty good writing Klingon 
> when I have about 5 years to sit and search my TKD for vocabulary! 
> But, like everyone else who first gets started, I'm doing this to 
> gain fluency. So, don't spare the help!

> 'avwI'jIH. 

nuq Da'av? You also need a space between 'avwI' and jIH.

> tlhIngan Hol jIjatlhbe' QaQ.

The first bit - <tlhIngan Hol jIjatlhbe'> - is fine except for a prefix
error: the <jI-> should be <vI->. The last word, though, does not work. I
see what you're trying to do, and it works in English and Spanish and other
similar languages, but not in Klingon.

The problem is that you are trying to use <QaQ> as an adverb, but <QaQ>
doesn't go that way. It is a verb meaning "be good", and it can be used as
an adjective, but that's it. So you're going to have to rework the whole
sentence. Here are some suggestions for English sentences with similar
meaning that are easier to translate:

My Klingon language ability is not very good.
When I speak Klingon I am not very skilled.

Try one of these and see how it comes out.

> HIQaH'a'

The prefix <HI-> is an imperative, so <HIQaH> means "Help me!". You then
turn it into a question with <-'a'>, which doesn't make any sense. Here are
some things that do:

HIQaH          - Help me!
tuQaHqang'a'?  - Are you (plural; y'all) willing to help me?
choQaHqang'a'? - Are you (singular) willing to help me?

Just plain <HIQaH> is the best of these, and the most Klingon way to say it
as well.


Good first post. Keep trying!


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian

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