tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Mar 25 20:45:06 2001
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RE: KLBC: Patience makes perfect
- From: "Stauffer, Tad E (staufte7)" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: KLBC: Patience makes perfect
- Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 23:44:34 -0500
SarrIS said:
> > 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.
>
pagh-le' said:
> SoQlIj vIyaj. pab potlh 'ej <vocabulary> potlh.
>
maj. Your first sentence here is good.
For the second part, remember that Klingon word order is
object-verb-subject. The verbs here are {potlh}, and the subjects are
"grammar" and "vocabulary". So these go after each {potlh}, rather than
before.
Also, we do have a word for "vocabulary" - it is {mu'tay'}.
So the second sentence would be:
{potlh pab 'ej potlh mu'tay'} "Grammar is important and vocabulary is
important"
> > 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'.
>
Again, if you want to say "SarrIS is quite correct", *{SarrIS} is the
subject and {lughqu'} is the verb. So you just need to switch the word order
here.
> 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."
[...]
> qeSlIj vIlaj.
>
maj.
> 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?
>
As SarrIS already pointed out, this works. He also made good suggestions if
you needed to specify that it's a library and not something like a
bookstore.
> SuyDaq vIghoS. (merchant's location, I go there).
>
Again, this is fine. I'd probably say {Suy vIghoS} ("I go to the merchant"),
but would just be my preference.
> 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
>
This is good. You could also use the verb {vut}, which means "cook" or more
generally "prepare (food)". {vut} doesn't necessarily require heating food
over a stove.
Also, just a note - "coffee" is spelled {qa'vIn}. The {'} is just as
important as {D}, {tlh}, or any other letters in Klingon.
> ... 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.
>
Watch your spelling - "Klingon" is spelled {tlhIngan}.
> DaH jIQong.
>
No problem here.
Qapla'.
- taD
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