Re: KBLC KLBC

[Quvar valer <levinius@gmx.de>]

It's not KBLC, but KLBC: "Klingon Language Beginners' Conversation"

ghItlh ngabwI':

>jIQongtaHvIS jIvumlaH.
>        I can do this job sleeping.
maj.
literally "I can work while I am sleeping"

>(I am curious if I need to use {'e'} with {jIQongtaHvIS} as the antecedent)
You only need the pronoun {'e'} when the preceding sentence is the object of the verb, as in
    {bIQong 'e' vIlegh}
    "I see that you sleep"
    "You sleep; I see that"

In your case, {jIQongtaHvIS} "while I am sleeping" is a subordinate clause. TKD 6.2.2 explains: 
<<<<<< Klingon verbs ending in Type 9 suffixes (other than {-'a'} "interrogative" and {-wI'} "one who does, one 
which does") always occur in sentences with another verb. Hence, they are verbs in subordinate clauses"
>>>>>>

Just as in english, the order of the two parts of the sentence is variable:
    {jIQongtaHvIS jIvumlaH.}
    "while I am sleeping I can work"

    {jIvumlaH jIQongtaHvIS}
    "I can work while I am sleeping"

>     potlhHom 'oH Sepvetlh'e'
>       - "The region is of minor importance"

>(I am questioning the use of {potlhHom} ("little important thing"?), as I am 
>not sure this is a valid translation, or that this sentence has a valid 
>translation)
Interesting question. Your sentence is grammatically correct. Only the question remains what {potlhHom} exactly 
means.
{potlh}n. "consequential thing, something important"
{potlhHom}n.  "minor consequential thing, something less important" (?)
Then there should also be something {potlh'a'} "something very important"

>Another question: Is it that I'm so new to the language, or are the speakers 
>of thlIngan Hol in the movies and TV just really bad? 
Oh no, those are just different dialects!  ;-)
(that's the official explanation, of course the actors had trouble)

>      DEE HEEV LA TA VEES DEE HEEV NEES
>Am I listening incorrectly, or is that what he actually said?
That's exactly what he says.

This sounds like Morskan dialect
   {*DIhIvlatavIS DIhIvnIS*}
More about that in KGT p.22.

Quvar
Beginners' Grammarian
  ghojwI'pu'wI' vISaH