tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Aug 27 18:57:12 2000

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: [KLBC] [The Raven] Uff! :)

qon Edgar Allan Poe:
>Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow
>From my books surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore
>For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.

mugh Tremal-Naik:
>jajlo' vIneHchu'; *Lenore* chIlmo', be'HomvaD qub 'ej boch
>'ej *Lenore* 'oH pongDaj'e' pongbogh Qun negh
>paqmeyvo' 'oy' Hergh vInejta'.

There are several parts of this translation that I cannot understand.
{*Lenore* chIlmo'} seems to mean something like "because Lenore is
lost," but there is no subject in this clause. Also, I'm not sure {chIl}
("lose, misplace") is appropriate in this context. I doubt it can be
applied to people. (Does anyone know whether we have canon on this?)

In the next part of the sentence, {qub} and {boch} apparently refer to
Lenore, but there are a few problems with this translation. First, you
have two verbs acting as adjectives of the same noun. A noun can only
have one adjective. You'll have to use {-bogh} for the other. Also,
verbs as adjectives actually come *before* the Type 5 suffix of the noun
they modify (if it has one). Finally, I doubt that {boch} can be applied
to people in this way. I preferred your earlier choice of {'IH}. Thus, I
recommend one of the following for this part of the translation:
   qubbogh 'ej 'IHbogh be'HomvaD  for the girl who is rare and beautiful
   'IHbogh 'ej qubbogh be'HomvaD  for the girl who is beautiful and rare
   qubbogh be'Hom 'IHvaD          for the beautiful girl who is rare
   'IHbogh be'Hom qubvaD          for the rare girl who is beautiful
Wheret is the main clause in this sentence? I only see a noun with
{-vaD} before we go to a new sentence (the one about Lenore's name).

The rest of the translation, though, appears to be almost flawless.
majQa'. There's only one questionable part. Is there supposed to be a
period at the end of the second line?

                                        DujHoD

Back to archive top level