tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Mar 05 17:29:43 1999

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RE: KLBC: yIHnaQ

jatlhlu':

>> bIQDep DavutmeH tlhIch Dulo'. nIQ vISopmeH jIcheghta'
>> Would you tell me what you think I written. I don't what to tell 
>> you what I think so you will tell me what you interpretation is.

jIjatlh:

>Well, except for a typo (<Dulo'> should be <Dalo'>), you've said "You smoke
>the fish. I have returned for breakfast".

jatlh Jeremy Silver:

> I'm new to this list, I will probably write a small introduction as soon
as
> can think of something interesting to say about myself, but I couldnt
resist
> replying to this one in the recent archives.

Welcome to the list, Jeremy. My name is pagh, and I am the current
Beginners' Grammarian. It's my job to help beginners learn Klingon. I
respond to KLBC messages with grammatical corrections and advice. Before I
respond, anyone else is free to post a response to the content of the
message, but in order to avoid a flood of possibly conflicting and incorrect
advice, the grammar is off limits. After I respond, anyone is free to
comment.

> I think what he had in mind was "Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for
> breakfast". Best spoken with a capital H stamped on your forehead. 
> (A quote from Ace Rimmer AKA Arnold Judas Rimmer in the British comedy 
> Red Dwarf, for those unfamiliar with the reference.)

toH! DaH jIyajchu'.

> I wouldnt mind working out the "correct" tlhIngan Hol for that myself, 
> but it will take me all night. I did that for "Cry Havoc, and let slip 
> the dogs of war" last week, then I dug through the archives and found 
> someone had already done it. 

> Well here is my effort at the Cry Havoc quote for your dissection:

> QIH yIjach 'ej veS Ha'DIbaHmey DajonHa'

You need the <yI-> prefix on the <jon> as well, and <QIH yIjach> is a little
odd, but otherwise, this is fine for a literal translation. <targh> is
probably better than just <Ha'DIbaH> here as well.

I reccommend beginners stay well away from translating poetry (including
song lyrics). It's one thing to say "I bought two pies" - <cha' chabmey
vIje'>, and quite another to try to translate "Do you bite your thumb at us,
sir?". Most of the time, language is used as a simple tool for
communication, and the ideas behind the words are the only important thing.
In poetry, though, the language itself is part of the art, and the
relationship between the words and the ideas is much more complex. As a
result, translating poetry is a lot harder than translating everyday
communication.


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian

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