tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Feb 28 12:40:09 2001
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Re: Translation of songs into Klingon?
Hi,
Qov wrote:
>
> Translating songs into Klingon is quite a common pursuit. It is,
> unfortunately, the first thing a lot of bgeginners attempt.
I have read this in the FAQ. Since I have translated songs into German
before, though, I know that it is not as easy as many people think it
is.
> That caution aside, there are a number of songs in Klingon, enough that we
> shuold have a songbook. Some, such as taHjaj wo' are completely original
> lyrics and melody. [...] I can think of a Klingon children's
> counting song, based on an idea that most languages have. [...]
> Is that what you mean?
No.
What I meant was this. Suppose Klingon was an existing, living language.
Disney would want to synchronize their movies, like The Lion King, in
Klingon too, the same way they've synchronized it in German, French,
Spanish etc. Now if you look at all the translations already on my
website, you'll see what I mean. The original was of course written in
English - all the other versions have the exact same melody (and backing
track, for that matter), and have a somewhat similar, if not same,
overall meaning (especially those parts of the lyrics that are related
to what's happening on the screen).
Since I enjoy this, I took other songs that have not been translated
(e.g., Neverending Story) and translated them into German. I was
wondering if any of you would enjoy making an attempt of coming up with
a Klingon translation.
> As for your Royal Eagle, how about ta' toQ -- "Emperor's Eagle" or
> "Imperial Eagle" -- assuming toQ is comes out as Eagle. Who knows, maybe a
> Klingon would call it an 'aqa or an 'agh in imitaion of its cries.
Unfortunately, there is also a kind of eagle called Imperial Eagle
(Aquila Heliaca) which is different from the Golden Eagle (Aquila
Chrysaetos).
I think {HuD toQ} or {HuDvo' toQ} is my favourite so far... since I
don't have a Klingon language intuition, I can't tell which one sounds
more sensible, maybe you can elaborate on what they sound like to you as
experienced speakers?
Thanks again for all your help,
Timwi