tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri May 12 10:21:03 2000
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KLBC : Double negative
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: KLBC : Double negative
- Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 13:20:07 EDT
I was trying out a translation and I thought I'd ask the experts...
In order to state that:
1. We dress up as and act in the manner of Klingons.
2. If you need me to explain for you why we do this, then there are subtle
nuances about why that you will, in all likelihood, *never* fully understand.
In DI'vI' Hol, a common phrasing is:
We are Klingon. If I gotta explain, you wouldn't understand.
In tlhIngan Hol, I come up with :
tlhIngan maH 'e' DayajmeH vIQIj 'e' DapoQchugh, vaj not DayajlaHchu'.
Then I began to wonder about double negatives. IE, not DayajlaHchu'be' (You
can never not fully understand) vs. reH DayajlaHchu'be' (You will always not
perfectly understand), (the implication being that, while you may understand
parts of it, you will never fully understand). In English, purists maintain
that a double negative of this sort makes a positive...in Klingon, does the
-be' negation suffix contradict the not (never), thus making reH (always)
proper?
Also, I'm open to suggestions about a better way to say this...
juDmoS