tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun May 13 21:25:43 2001
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camping terms (was Re: *Paramount* chaw')
ja' QIS:
>...As I've said before, I'm a Scouter, and
>one of the first things I wanted to do was write something about a
>camping trip. I quickly gave up because it ended up being largely
>English since I could find no words for camping, tent, axe, fishing,
>knots, marshmallows, etc.
There are no direct Klingon translations for many English nouns. That
shouldn't stop you from speaking of taking a group of young boys on an
overnight expedition, establishing a temporary base, setting up small
soft-walled buildings, and sleeping on the ground. There *is* a word for
"axe" (it's spelled "ax" in KGT), and I think it's rather easy to describe
trying to entice fish to bite the baited barb at the end of a line hanging
in the water. Telling us about tying rope in useful ways is likewise easy,
unless you insist on naming the knots instead of describing their function.
I discovered long ago that it's easy to talk about uncommon objects if you
focus on describing what something *does* rather than what it *is*.
So now that I've given you some hints, I'd enjoy reading about your camping
trip with the Scouts. If you still can't make it work, post a paragraph or
so here and I'll work through it with you if you like.
>What's the point of speaking Klingon if half
>your words are English. I could have used incredibly convoluted Klingon
>explanations for the words but that seemed terribly pedantic.
You must really dislike ordering dinner in a Mexican restaurant. :)
Seriously, marshmallows are about the only thing you mentioned that I'd
have a difficult time discussing in Klingon without resorting to excessive
explanations. Heck, I'd have a hard time discussing marshmallows in
*English* if I couldn't use the word. Chewy lightweight white sticky balls
of paste that expand and melt when heated while their surface darkens and
hardens? No, I think they definitely deserve to keep their English label.
-- ghunchu'wI' 'utlh