tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Oct 02 22:08:49 2001
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: KLBC: vaj
From: "TPO" <[email protected]>
> > > jup yIjatlh vaj yI'el
> > > speak friend and enter
> >
> If he means that "speaking" IS the key that allows you to enter, then vaj
> could work.
> But unless there is a comma (or equivalent) after jup, jup is in the wrong
> place. If he's calling out "friend" to get his attention, then he can put
> it first.
> jup, yIjatlh - Friend, speak.
> yIjatlh jup - Speak friend.
You might need a little context to get this. The Fellowship is standing
outside the West Gate of Moria, trying to figure out how to get in. There
is writing on the gate, which is in Elvish, and which Gandalf translates:
"Speak, friend, and enter."
Gandalf spends a good deal of time trying to figure out the right spell or
password to get into the gate. Eventually he realizes what to do. He says
the Elvish word "mellon," which is "friend," and the gate opens. He
misinterpreted the inscription. It should have been "Say 'friend' and
enter."
Jiri's version does this too, but why change the position of /jup/ "friend"?
Thus my Klingon version, which incorporates the cause of Gandalf's
misunderstanding:
yIjatlh jup ghIq yI'el.
Speak, friend, and enter.
Say 'friend' and enter.
/yIjatlh jup/ can mean two different things: "Speak, friend" (direct
address), or "say 'friend'" (quotation). In Klingon, quotations can go on
either side of the sentence with the verb of saying. (An example from Power
Klingon: /jatlh qama' jI'oj/ "The prisoner says, 'I am thirsty.'")
/ghIq yI'el/ is simple enough: "and then enter." /ghIq/ is found on the
KLI's New Words List. I agree that /vaj/ is not entirely appropriate here.
It IS possible to squish Klingon sentences together, especially with /vaj/,
but one imperative does not logically lead to another.
SuStel
Stardate 1755.3