tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Nov 14 14:28:18 2002
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Re: Comp Sci Theory in Klingon...
...Paul wrote:
>Good point, although that's exactly why I was looking for a good way to
>describe it without jargon. I think something such as { wa'DIch 'oHmeH
>DalannIS } is just as good (if that's legal ;), if not as succinct, but
>avoids the whole jargon concept.
"First in order for you need to put it"?? "You need to put it
first"?? I'm not sure what {'oHmeH DalannIS} means.
{-meH} is a verb suffix and, although {'oH} can sometimes act as a verb
(the so-called "pronoun-as-verb"), it doesn't do so here. The verb in this
sentence is {lan} "place, put". Also, {wa'DIch} "first" is not an
adverbial in Klingon; it has to refer to a noun: i.e. {X wa'DIch} "the
first X".
Okrand did mention a sequence of events in his discussion of the made-up
word {paghDIch} "zeroth} in KGT (p.176-177):
Several of these made-up words involve constructions normally restricted
to numbers... Sometimes the suffix is heard attached to {pagh} ("zero,
none"), producing the technically ungrammatical term {paghDIch} ("zeroth").
[....] Similarly, one might describe how to wield a painstik during the
Rite of Ascension by saying: {'oy'naQ DaQeqDI' mIw wa'DIch Data', 'ach
'oy'naQ Dachu'DI' mIw paghDIch Data'} ("When you aim the painstik, you
accomplish the first step, but when you turn the painstik on, you accomplish
the zeroth step)". The implication here is that activating the painstik must
be done before beginning the ritualistic part of the ceremony.
Using this as a model, you could say
mIw wa'DIch Data'meH, naDev X DalannIS
mIw cha'DIch Data'meH, pa' Y DalannIS
To accomplish the first step, you need to put X here.
To accomplish the second step, you need to put Y there.
Of course, it would just be simpler to number the steps in a list {tetlh}
and use the imperative:
1. naDev X yIlan
2. pa' Y yIlan
1. Put X here!
2. Put Y there!
Keep in mind, too, that we have the adverbials {ghIq} "and then, after
that, by then, subsequently"; {ngugh} "then, at that time"; {tagha'}
"finally, at last" and the verb suffixes {-DI'} "as soon as, when"; {-pa'}
"before" and {-(taH)vIS} "while" available to provide some sequence and
order to a list of instructions.
>Hmm... I'm kinda surprised I can't seem to find anything for the verb
>"stack" or the noun (adjective?) "pile". I would've thought Klingons
>would have a simple way of saying "Pile the bodies over there." :)
You're right: There's no known word for "pile" or "stack", but if you use a
little imagination, you can get the same idea across:
pa' lommey tIlan; tut yIchenmoH.
Place the corpses over there; form a column.
i.e. stack the corpses one on top of the other, forming a gruesome sort of
column {tut}.
pa' HuDHom DachenmoHmeH lommey tIlo'.
Use the bodies to form a mound over there.
i.e. the bodies form a *{HuDHom}, a "small/minor hill"
>How would you describe a "pile of bodies" or a "stack of plates"?
*{tutHom} might work for "stack". You can also use the noun {'op} "some,
an unknown or unspecified quantity". E.g.:
pa' raSDaq 'op ngop tu'lu'. jIHvaD jengva' yI'uchchoH!
There are some plates over there on the table. Grab a plate for me!
Granted, it's not quite what you had in mind, but you use the tools you've got.
--
Voragh "All the meaning is in the context."
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons (Ilya Kabakov, Russian artist)