tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Mar 23 23:39:53 2001
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Re: KLBC: Patience makes perfect
> Without grammar, vocabulary is nothing more than sounds to cry at the
moon.
> Without words, grammar is nothing more than a dream that one can never
> share. It is the dance between grammar and vocabulary that fascinates
those
> of us who love language.
SoQlIj vIyaj. pab potlh 'ej <vocabulary> potlh.
> It never ceases to amaze me how little interest beginners have in
expressing
> their own ideas in Klingon. Always, they seek to translate something so
> profound that they almost certainly don't understand it deeply enough to
> really translate it. They choose poems and songs and ancient texts;
anything
> but their own thoughts. Too often, the effort ends up insulting the
original
> text and the language it is being translated into.
SarrIS lughqu'.
When I first attempted the Tao Te Ching, I got as far as the first line then
realized that the rest of it would have to understood in English and
expressed in Klingon from a Klingon perspective. It would never do to simply
change the words from English into Klingon. Being hard-headed and engaged in
learning Buddhist practice, I attempted some Buddhist expressions. This had
problems as well, which taD quickly pointed out--that "perfect patience"
would require some explanation to understand what is meant by the Buddhist
term "Perfection of Patience."
> If you want to learn to speak Kling well, then just speak it. Learn to use
> the words we have before spending too much time trying to translate highly
> specialized terms and proper names. There is so much that can be said with
> the vocabulary we already have. If only a simple head butting could get
this
> idea through to people, I'd do it more often. So far, it hasn't worked.
qeSlIj vIlaj.
There are many things I do, such as drive my car and go to the store, that I
find difficult to express in Klingon since there does not seem to be a word
for "car" nor "store." I can't even figure out how to say "I go to the
library." [Ich geht zum Bibliotek] a first-year phrase in high school German
(for Americans).
paqmey qachDaq vIghoS.
Is this close enough?
SuyDaq vIghoS. (merchant's location, I go there).
It has occured to me in the past couple of days to attempt to describe the
things I do each day: make coffee...
qavIn vIchenmoH
... and so forth as best I can. Only when I have a grasp of the 2400 words
in {thlIngon Hol} and the {pab} that govern their use can I even begin to
think about expressing more profound concepts.
DaH jIQong.
~pagh-le'