tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jan 06 12:51:42 2004

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Re: KLBC boghmo' 'IHrIStoS malop

David Trimboli ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol po'wI']

From: "Steven Boozer" <[email protected]>

> Philip:
> >But I suppose "They gave presents to them" could also mean "They gave
> >presents to one another".
>
> SuStel:
> >I really think this is just a case where English can do something that
> >Klingon can't.  There's no shame in that: it's the way languages are.
> >ghunchu'wI' is absolutely right when he uses a different verb: /nobmey
> >DItam/ "We exchanged gifts."  Don't insist on a direct translation when a
> >recasting will do the job right.
>
> Just to show that there are rarely any simple answers, here's our one
> example of {tam} "substitute, exchange" - used together with {nob} "give"!
> - in SkyBox S33:
>
> boq lucherDI' tlhIngan wo' romuluS Hov wo' je So'wI' cham Suqpu' tlhIngan
wo'.
>   chaq tampu'.  chaq romuluSnganpu'vaD pIvghor cham lunobpu' tlhInganpu'.
> Cloaking technology was gained through an alliance with the Romulan Star
> Empire,
>   possibly in exchange for warp drive technology.
>
> Literally: "When the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire
established
> an alliance, the Klingon Empire acquired cloaking device
> technology.  Perhaps they exchanged.  Perhaps the Klingons gave warp drive
> technology to the Romulans."
>
> Interestingly, {tam} doesn't seem to have an object here.  It would make
> more sense to put {chaq tampu'} after the sentence about warp technology,
> but that might just be me.  If you do move it to the end, however, you
> could translate it transitively as "they (i.e. the Romulans and the
> Klingons) exchanged them (i.e. cloaking and warp technology)".

/chaq tampu'/ could easily be translated as "Perhaps they had made an
exchange."  The explanation of that exchange then follows.

A lack of an object can be read as a general or indefinite object.  This is
mentioned by Okrand in TKD, and is shown in some examples.  /SeymoH QeH/
"Anger excites."  Excites whom?  You COULD say, but the proverb doesn't make
it explicit.  /tlhIngan SeymoH QeH/ "Anger excites a Klingon" is a good
sentence.

SuStel
Stardate 4015.8

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