tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Dec 06 12:31:26 2000
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RE: pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese ?
Voragh:
> As Okrand uses it, the noun {Doch} "thing" always refers to a tangible,
> physical object. You cannot use {Dochvam} "this thing" or {Dochvetlh} "that
> thing" to refer to the relative pronouns "this" or "that" - a very
> common error among English speakers.
De'vID:
: The one example, I think, of someone using {Doch} to refer to an
: abstract "that" was in the opening of PK. The "bumbling Terran" says
: something like {Dochvetlh yItlhap!} ("Take that!") before getting
: shot. Not a good example to follow, to be sure.
Let's take a look at that untranslated scene. Here's my transcript:
Klingon: quvwIj DatIchpu', tera'ngan.
[You have insulted my honor, Terran.]
bIyIntaH 'e' Daqotlhbe'!
[You don't deserve to live ("keep on living").]
DISRUPTOR FIRE
Terran: yIjotchoH!
[Calm down!]
MORE DISRUPTOR FIRE
Terran: Dochvetlh yItlhap!
[Take that!]
PHASER FIRE
MORE DISRUPTOR FIRE
SCREAM AS TERRAN IS HIT BY DISRUPTOR BLAST
{Dochvetlh} actually refers to the phaser (or phaser beam) the Terran was about
to fire at the Klingon merchant, who had already fired his disruptor twice at
the Terran. It's not a dummy relative pronoun referring to something said by
either of the characters.
{Dochvetlh yItlhap!} may also have been a typical Terran error: a grammatically
correct translation of "Take that!" After all, the whole premise of "Power
Klingon", to which this little dialogue is the introduction, was that mere
grammatical correctness is not enough to avoid linguistic mistakes. One must
also understand Klingon culture, mores, and tradition in order to avoid
unpleasant incidents -- such as death. There's another example of a
grammatically correct but socially inept mistake in this very dialogue:
Terran: 'IH jaj, qar'a'? maja'chuqjaj?
[Beautiful day, isn't it? Can we talk?]
Klingon: jISaHbe'.
[I don't care.]
The comment {'IH jaj} is inappropriate because Klingons don't make small talk
about the weather, or anything else for that matter. The merchant immediately
became suspicious of a "customer" attempting to distract him with irrelevant
chatter. (What's the Terran up to? Is he pulling some sort of con? Is he not
serious about buying? Is this the set-up to a robbery attempt?)
In any case, you should not model your speech on that of this particularly
inept Terran tourist - at least, not before he's learned the lessons of "Power
Klingon"!
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons