tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jan 04 16:16:39 2000

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RE: The Klingon Hamlet


> I have a question about translating books from english to klingon: There
> must be lots of words wich aren't covered by TKD, how do you do with them?
> Will there be a list in the end of the book with the "new" klingon words?
I
> haven't bought TKD yet, I thought I could join this list for a while,
before
> I decided if I want it or not. Are there a group of people, whose
> translations become "official", or how does it work?

One of the goals of the KSRP (Klingon Shakespeare Resoration Project) is to
accomplish the translations without creating anything new in the language.
If you need a word for, say, "window" and Klingon doesn't have it, you find
another way to convey what you're saying.  

Of course, this is a difficult task.  It requires a great deal of skill with
both the source and target languages (you must be very familiar with the
tools of the language that you're translating to and from), and a good
understanding of the text that you're trying to translate.  

In Hamlet, proper names were rendered in tlhIngan Hol's roman orthography,
and are listed at the beginning of the play, in the Dramatis Personae.

Even though no new vocabulary was created for Hamlet, there are still
constructions that require additional explanation.  For instance, one that
stands out in my mind is the {ngaghQo'wI' nawlogh} "Squadron of the
Celibate," bands of warriors who dedicated themselves to fighting to the
exclusion of all else, even taking a mate.  So, when Hamlet says to Ophelia
in III.i "get thee to a nunnery," the Klingon reads: {ngaghQo'wI' nawlogh
yImuv}.  This usage is not obvious, and is explained in the endnotes.

> - Grateful for answers, Jonas.

--Holtej 'utlh

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