tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Oct 09 10:28:28 2000
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
RE: KLBC: nuq (what)
Rohn said:
> I want to know if 'nuq' would be used in the following sentence:
> What a good friend we have in Joe.
> It is not a question, just a statement.
taD:
: As you've pointed out, this is a statement, not a question. Since you aren't
: asking "What?", you aren't going to use {nuq} in the sentence.
: As far as actually translating the sentence into Klingon, first you'll have
: to look at the sentence and determine what it means. [....] You
: can try figuring it on your own first, and I'll give help if you need it.
Rohn is right to be suspicious of over-literal translation. As taD hinted,
"what" often has other uses in English besides being a request for
information. As a further hint, consider what effect "what" has in the
following (hopefully) familiar sentences, none of which are questions:
"Oh, what a beautiful morning;
oh, what a beautiful day."
"My...what big teeth you have, grandmother!"
"What a dump!" (Bette Davis)
Then see what tools we have in Klingon to achieve the same effect.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons