tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Mar 08 14:47:42 2001

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Re: birthday-klbc



Since the BG is busy with exams, I'll fill in...

RNButler wrote:
: quraq's boghjaj Jul 23rd
: Kurok's birthday is July 23rd

The good news: We actually have a word for birthday; it's {qoS}.

The bad news: We don't know how to give dates with months and days in Klingon
yet.  

We do have one clue, however, and that's the STAR TREK: THE EXPERIENCE
communique of 7 November 1997.  Since this announced the grand opening, I have
always suspected that Okrand was asked by Paramount to translate it into
English (though AFAIK no one has ever asked him about it).  Bearing that caveat
in mind, we have:

  tera' poH jaj wa', jar wa', jaj loSDIch, DIS wa'-Hut-Hut-chorgh: 
   HovpoHvetlh latlh nab yIHutlh.
  Save this Stardate: Sunday, January 4, 1998

After identifying it as a Terran date {tera' poH} ("Terran period of time"),
the dating formula follows: "day 1, month 1, 4th day, year 1998" which even if
non-Okrandian, is as good as any other schemes, of which we have two, neither
of which refer to months and days.  One identifies only the Terran century:

  qItI'nga Duj tera' vatlh DIS poH cha'maH wej HochHom lo'lu'taH 
  the K'Tinga-class remained in use for most of the 23rd century. S15

  tera' vatlh DISpoH cha'maH loS bong QongmeH qItI'nga Duj tI'ang
   ghompu' DIvI' 'ejDo' 'entepray' 
  A sleeper ship of this [K'Tinga] class, the T'Ong, was encountered
   in the 24th century by the USS Enterprise. S15

(Yes, both {DIS poH] and {DISpoH} appear on the same card - at least according
to their Lawrence's transcription in HolQed, on which I rely.)

The other uses a Federation-style stardate:

  HovpoH Hut vagh cha' wa' vI' jav Dujvam 'aghlu'pu' 'ach Qaw'lu'pu' 
  [This ship was demonstrated on Stardate 9521.6 but it was destroyed.] S33

(The translation was omitted from the card, so I've supplied my own.)

Getting back to Kurok and his birthday, and using the STX communique as a
model, we can use the dating formula either as a noun-noun phrase:

  jar Soch jaj cha'maH wejDIch 'oH quraq qoS'e'.
  The 23rd day of month 7 is Kurok's birthday.

or as a time-stamp:

  jar Soch, jaj cha'maH wejDIch qaS quraq qoS.
  On the 23rd day of month 7, Kurok's birthday occurs.

If you want, you can add {tera' poH} at the beginning, but I think it's obvious
from the context in such a short, informal note.

YMMV.



-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons


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