RE: tlhingan "haiku"mey ;-) [KLBC]

["Eric Andeen" <andeen@home.com>]

jatlh taj'IH:

> Greetings to the Empire:

> Inspired by a bit of ikebana (a Japanese flower arrangement with all
> sorts of metaphorical overtones) I tried my hand at writing a haiku
> (17 syllable poem) in tlhIngan Hol. haikus tend to use simple pictures
> (often, but not necessarily from nature), sometimes harmonious,
> sometimes contrasting to hint at their actual message. One should try
> to actually imagine the pictures drawn to find out the metaphor...

> The strict form demands 3 sets of syllables in 5-7-5 arrangement, the
> freer form, especially in non-Japaniese haikus does not follow this
> rule... Klingons being disciplinarians, I decided to do it the hard way
> ;-)


> I sketched the haiku in English free form:

> upright grass
> a breeze bows all
> a fool stands before the wind

> The intended meaning is that any plant is wise enough to be flexible
> in the face of vastly superior forces (here of Nature), thus surviving
> and winning in the end, so a wise Klingen ought to do the same.
> Obviously, this is a homage to the tale told by Kahless to Gowron in
> TNG, which I thought a worthy sentiment to transport {{:-)

> tlhIngan Hol version, following 5-7-5 rule:

> niteb Qam naHjej [a thistle stands alone]
Watch the capitalization. nIteb.

> SuSHommo' joq Hoch pormey [due to the light breeze every leaf flutters]
<joq Hoch pormey> would be "all the leaves flutter". <joq Hoch por> would be
"each leaf ...".

> SuS ghobqu' qoH neH [only a fool battles the wind]
<ghobqu'> just sound really weird here. It's like everyone battles the wind
a little bit, but only a fool *really* battles the wind. You can't just drop
the <-qu'> - you need the syllable - but you should probably replace it. I
would suggest <ghobqang>, or dropping the <-qu'> and adding <-na'> to <qoH>.

> I found no word for grass, but wanted some plant in an exposed position,
> seemingly unbending... therefore a single prickly Klingon plant.

maj.


> Please criticize any mistakes I made... but remember the 5-7-5 restriction
> changes must fit into. Each set of syllables (does not have to be a
complete
> sentence) must be selfcontaining, so sentences running across line breaks
> are not permitted.


> tlhIngan Hol seems to be nicely suited to haikus - the choice between
> clipped and lengthy phrases along with all sorts of pre/suffixes helps
> in adhering to the pattern.
> Any thoughts on if "haiku"mey would be acceptable Klingon poetry?
> Further reference:
> http://www.faximum.com/aha.d/haidefjr.htm

Dojqu'. latlh yIqon. bommey vIqonlaHbe' jIH 'ej vIqonQo', 'ach vIlaDqangbej
'ej vIQoyqangbej.


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian