tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jan 08 15:12:16 2004

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Re: more questions on translating words

Steven Boozer ([email protected]) [KLI Member]



weQqul asks for some vocabulary:

>embarrassed

closest idea is {tuH}  "be ashamed" (verb)

>enough

{yap}  "be enough, be sufficient" (verb)

   Suvlu'taHvIS yapbe' HoS neH
   Brute strength is not the most important asset in a fight. TKW
   (lit. "when one fights, strength alone is not enough")

   yImev, yap!
   Stop! It is enough! KGT

>too much, (not as in 'too many')

Okrand discussed this in HolQeD (8.3):

{tlhoy}  "overly, to an excessive degree, excessively, too much" (adverbial)

   tlhoy qagh vISop
   I eat too much gagh, I eat gagh excessively, I overeat gagh

{'Iq} "be too many, be too much" is used adjectivally:

   yIHmey 'Iq vIlegh
   I see too many tribbles.

   qagh 'Iq vISop
   I eat too much gagh.

"Sometimes, the word {law'qu'} 'be very many' (formed from {law'} 'be many' 
plus {-qu'}, the emphatic suffix) is translated 'be too many.' If the 
context is clear, this is acceptable, but if it important to stress the 
idea of 'overly many, overly much, more than there ought to be,' {tlhoy} or 
{'Iq} is usually employed."


>more (as in please give me more examples)

{latlh}  "additional one, other one, another one" (noun).

   latlh 'Iw HIq HInob!
   Give me another bloodwine!  Give me more bloodwine!

   naDev juppu'ma'vaD latlh HIvje'mey ghonob!
   Give us more glasses for our friends here!

   latlh!
   Another!

You can also use the plural {latlhmey} "additional ones".

   latlhmey tInob!
   Give more (of them)!
   ("give additional ones!")

   latlhmey ghonob!
   Give us more!
   ("give us additional ones!")

   latlhmey!
   More!

>tears (as in weeping)

There's no known word for tear, since Klingons have no tear ducts.  (McCoy 
commented on this in ST6.)  OTOH, there is the verb {SaQ} "cry" though 
we've never seen it used.

>belong (as in something belongs to me) i am not even sure that is right in
>english! LOL

No word.  Since there's also no word for "property", you can't reword it 
and say "X is my property".  the closest you can come is "X is mine" or 
"this is my X".  E.g.:

   tajwIj 'oH tajvam'e'
   this is my knife
   ("this knife is my knife")

You can also say simply:

   tajwIj 'oH.
   It's mine.
   ("It's my knife.")

>inner (as in inner space)

{qoD}  "inside, interior" (location noun).

   lupDujHom qoDDaq ghaHtaH la''e'
   The commander is inside the shuttlecraft.

   bIrqu' qoD
   the interior is very cold, it's very cold inside

>share (as in share your thoughts) yeah! that is a good one!

No separate word. See how Okrand translated it in:

   Heghlu'DI' mobbe'lu'chugh QaQqu' Hegh wanI'
   Death is an experience best shared. TKW

>thoughts

no noun, but we do have {Sov} "knowledge", {qech} "idea" and {vuD} 
"opinion".  The verb is {Qub} "think".

>look down or away from (as in look away from someone)

no separate verb, but you can use {nej} "look for, seek, search for" and 
the noun {bIng} "area below":

   bIngDaq yInej
   Look down/below!

   SoH bIngDaq yInej
   Look under you!

>in something (as in the light in your eyes)

{-Daq} "in, on, at" (noun suffix)

   mInDu'lIjDaq
   in your eyes

   pa'DajDaq ghaHtaH la''e'
   The commander is in his quarters.
   ("As for the commander, he is in his quarters.") TKD

Unfortunately there's no noun for "light", so you have to rephrase this 
with verbs:

   wov mInDu'lIj
   your eyes are light, your eyes are bright

   boch mInDu'lIj
   your eyes shine, your eyes are shiny

>should not be (as in you should not be upset)

{-nIS} "need, must"  (verb suffix)
{-nISbe'} "need not, must not" (verb suffix + {-be'} "not"}

   bIQeHnISbe'
   you need not be angry, you must not be angry

   yIQeHQo'
   don't be angry!

>how would you say 'will be', as in future tense? ex: this will take place or
>this will happen

AS Holtej explained, Klingon does not have grammatical tense.  The verb 
{qaS} can be translated as "it happened/occurred, it happens/occurs, it 
will happen/occur" depending on context.  To specify, you need to add a 
time stamp:

   wa'Hu' qaS wanI'
   the event happened yesterday

   DaHjaj qaS wanI'
   the event happens today

   DaH qaS wanI'
   DaH qaSlI' wanI'
   the event is happening now

   wa'leS qaS wanI'
   the event will happen tomorrow

>what is the word for 'if' and can anyone give me examples of these words used
>in a sentence, please?

{-chugh} type 9 verb suffix:

   bIjatlhHa'chugh qaHoH
   qaHoH bIjatlhHa'chugh
   If you say the wrong thing, I will kill you. TKD

   bIjeghbe'chugh vaj bIHegh
   Surrender or die! TKD

   maDo'chugh QeHchoH wa'
   If we're lucky, one will get angry. PK



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons 



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