tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Sep 05 13:20:12 2001
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'o'wIj chopjaj Dorn
- From: Nick Nicholas <[email protected]>
- Subject: 'o'wIj chopjaj Dorn
- Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2001 03:58:57 -0700
I have a little something to say on the latest Dorn revelation. In English
and not terribly prudent, but hey, indulge me or don't. After all, it's
been six years since I posted anything flame-like here...
First, Dorn's incomprehension about Trekkiedom in general, and
tlhIngan-Holdom in particular, is nothing new. I remember him being in town
in Australia in '94 or so, and being astonished on a TV interview at people
spending time on translating the Bible into Klingon instead of finding a
cure for cancer (/tlhIngan-Hol/1994/June/msg00194.html).
Well, you got me, dude. I'm a doctor of linguistics, dammit, not of
medicine!
That he should work to undermine tlhIngan Hol in DS9 is somewhat more
surprising, but ultimately irrelevant, inasmuch as tlhIngan Hol has long
had a life *independent* of the Franchise (not speaking as a KLI officer,
obviously), and we've roundly ignored the no' Hol gibberish Dorn's been
responsible for anyway. I do note Dorn wasn't too proud to take the money
for doing Conversational Klingon, Power Klingon, and the audio The Klingon
Way. Pft, whatever. At least he's redeemed himself through I.M. Weasel.
It seems my little attempt at putting the Gospel of Mark into Klingon,
eight years ago (updated version at
http://www.opoudjis.net/Klingon/mark.new.html -- not that anyone's
noticed), has caused a lot more trouble than it might have been worth. I
don't particularly care, and here, I shall antagonise people. Skim over if
you think you'll be one of them.
_Mark_ in Klingon provoked the Proechel schism. _Mark_ in Klingon provoked
Dorn to sabotage tlhIngan Hol. _Mark_ in Klingon provoked fellow linguists
in my department to start scrunching their noses at me for being
imperialist scum (just as _Hamlet_ in Klingon may well guarantee I never
get a job as an academic linguist). _Mark_ in Klingon made several
Klingonists turn away in disgust (charghwI' unsubscribed for a day because
of the KBPT), and I know not what else. And if I was even a Christian, I
could do the martyr shtick, and wait for my reward in the Kingdom of
Heaven. But I can't claim even that. (Although, if I was a Christian, I
should also like to think that I would be moral enough about it not to be
compelled to apologise for it to everyone I meet.)
But you know what? I don't regret translating _Mark_ for a minute, and a
pox on anyone that says I should. That my curiosity on the origins of
Christianity and the History of Greek made me pen what I still think is the
best Klingon I've written is, as far as I'm concerned, a good thing, not a
bad thing. And it's something I'm proud of. (See also
/tlhIngan-Hol/1993/December/msg00052.html and
/tlhIngan-Hol/1994/June/msg00180.html , for what I said
at the time.)
And I am grateful to my friend, Mark Shoulson, because at the time he
defended the project while still humiliating me :-) --- and it was a
wake-up call I remain indebted to him for
(/tlhIngan-Hol/1993/December/msg00050.html):
>Much of my family, too, was wiped out by people quoting verses from the
>book >that bears my name which Nick is translating; I don't see think
>that's relevant to
>my involvement with the project. [...] You don't like the KBTP? Fine. I
>can't
>blame you. When I first heard it I thought it wasn't the greatest of ideas
>(and I
>still don't), but I decided that if anything came of it, I'd be happier
>having been involved than otherwise.
(In fact, even what charghwI' said, much later on, is pretty cool:
/tlhIngan-Hol/1994/June/msg00190.html )
In the end, it's not about Christ, or Paramount, or Dorn, or Nicholas. It's
about {Holmaj}. Dorn doesn't get that; his loss.
tlho'; pItlh.
Nick Nicholas, UCI, USA. [email protected]
http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis
"Must I, then, be the only one to be beheaded now?" "Why, did you want
everybody to be beheaded for your consolation?" Epictetus, Discourses 1.1.