tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Sep 06 22:12:55 2001

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Re: 'o'wIj chopjaj Dorn



HarwI' jIH, 'ej *Bible verses* vImugh.  jabbI'IDDaq vIghItlh, 'ej bepbe'
nuvpu'.  *Bible* bomugh boneHchugh, qatlh qab 'oH 'e' Qub nuv?

---qonwI'   BTW, what does the word {qel} mean?


-----Original Message-----
From: Nick Nicholas <[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <[email protected]>
Date: Wednesday, September 05, 2001 2:12 PM
Subject: 'o'wIj chopjaj Dorn


>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.
>
>



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