tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 17 09:41:49 2005

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Re:wamwI' - by juDmoS

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



juDmoS:
> > nom vIH tIqwIj.
> > My heart beats (moves) very fast.

jI'qel ghojwI':
>Where's it going?  ;)  I understood what you meant here, but I can't help
>but think /vIH/ isn't best used this way.  (It rather reminds me of a
>post-qep'a' post I once made in which I said /ghoghwIj vIchIl/ - "I lost
>my voice".  SuStel, the then-Beginner's Grammarian, said, "I hope you catch
>it!" before explaining that /chIl/ means 'to misplace' and not 'lose' in
>the way I'd thought of it.)  Unfortunately, I don't have a recast for you in
>this case.  Hopefully someone else out there does!

I applaud jI'qel's caution in being alert to English idiom, but I think in 
this case juDmoS is correct.  Okrand writes in KGT:  "The verb {vIH} 
('move, be in motion') can be applied to any sort of motion." (p.112).

Examples of {vIH} from canon:

   vIH qagh!
   The serpent worms are moving! CK

Here the serpent worms aren't going anywhere, they're just moving about in 
the bowl.

   matay'DI' vIHtaHbogh bIQ rur mu'qaDmey
   Between us, curses run like water. PK

{vIHtaHbogh bIQ} "moving/running/flowing water"

   vIHtaH gho
   The hoop is moving. (idiom: "hurry up!") KGT

Here the hoop is rolling from point A to point B, but the sense of the 
idiom is to do something before the hoop stops moving (and, say, falls 
motionless on the ground), not before it gets to where it's going.

We don't know how Klingon refer to a beating heart, but other verbs to 
consider include {joq} "flap, flutter, wave"; {nogh} "writhe" (some have 
used this for "squirm" or "wriggle") or more figuratively {jotHa'} "be 
uneasy", {bIt} "be nervous, uneasy", {boH} "be impatient" or go for the 
sound of a rapidly beating heart with {chuSqu'} "be very noisy".

> > maHIv'egh.
> > We attack each other.
>
>The suffix for "each other" is /-chuq/.  /-'egh/ is "myself".

{maHIv'egh} "we attack ourselves"

> > vIDuq.  vIDuQqa'. vIDuQqa'.
> > I stab it. I stab it again. I stab it again. (is there a way to say=20
> > "repeatedly"?)
>
>I understood that to mean "I stab it repeatedly" or "I stab it over and =
>over again."

How to refer to repetitive action without a stopping point is unclear, as 
IIRC there have been no examples.  Most people use the suffix {-taH}, 
either alone - {vIDuQtaH} "I continue to stab it (I keep on stabbing it)" - 
or with {-qa'} - {vIDuQqa'taH} "I continue to stab it again (I stab it 
again and again)".

> > mamuvta' Ha'DibaH jIH je.
> > The animal and I are joined.
>
>There's no rule that says you have to declare an object with /muv/, but =
>my mind wants one.  I don't know if /mamuvchuqta' Ha'DIbaH jIH je/ is any
>better ... I think this is an abstract idea (you don't mean you've become
>physically merged with the animal, do you?) which might be difficult to
>express (except poetically) in Klingon.

Not sure which is best, but here are a few options, with canon:

{muv} "join"

   batlh maHeghbej 'ej yo' qIjDaq vavpu'ma' DImuv
   Then we die with honor and join our fathers in the Black Fleet... (Anthem)

   jolbogh ghom wa'DIch DamuvlaHmeH De' DaneHchugh, Se'vam yIjIHtaH
   Stay tuned for information on how you can be among the first to beam 
aboard! STX

{rar} "connect

   nISwI' HIch motlh HoS Hal qengwI' naQ tIq je lurarlu'bogh 'oH
   tlhIngan nISwI' beH'e'
   The Klingon disruptor rifle is a standard hand held disruptor,
   attached to an extended power supply stock. S14

{tlhej} "accompany"

   HItlhej!
   Come with me! PK

   QotDI' gheD tlhejbe' wamwI'
   The hunter does not lie down with the prey. TKW

   bIQongtaHvIS nItlhejchugh targhmey bIvemDI' nItlhej ghIlab ghewmey
   If you sleep with targs, you'll wake up with glob flies. TKW

   ... the sense of "accompanied by, with" is usually translated
   by a phrase employing the verb {tlhej}, "accompany"... Thus,
   "I drink tea with Torg and Maltz" would be: {Dargh vItlhutlhDI'
   mutlhej torgh matlh je.} (Literally, "When I drink tea, Torg
   and Maltz accompany me.") or {Dargh vItlhutlh. mutlhej torgh
   matlh je.} ("I drink tea. Torg and Maltz accompany me.") or
   {Dargh vItlhutlh 'ej mutlhej torgh matlh je.} ("I drink tea,
   and Torg and Maltz accompany me.") (HolQeD 2.4)

{tay'} "be together, be united"

   tay'taHbe' 'Iw bIQ je
   Blood and water don't mix. TKW

   reH tay' ghot tuqDaj je
   One is always of his tribe.
   ("A person and his house are always together"). TKW

   tay' qeylor molor tuq je.
   Kahlor is of the House of Molor"
   Kahlor is from the House of Molor")
   ("Kahlor and the House of Molor are together.") (st.klingon 9/97)

   matay'DI' vIHtaHbogh bIQ rur mu'qaDmey
   Between us, curses run like water. PK
   ({matay'DI'} "between us ("when we're together")") TKW

   wa' Dol nIvDaq matay'DI' maQap
   We succeed together in a greater whole. TKW

   wo' tay' tlhInganpu' maH!
   We are U.K. Klingons! RT


> > naQ yaywIj.
> > My victory is complete.
>
>I understood this, but I think it's too noun-driven to be good Klingon.
>I think something like /jIQapchu'ta'/ "I have succeeded/won completely"
>would be better here.

"'To win' a competition is {Qap}. (If it's a decisive or particularly 
gratifying victory, they'd say {Qapchu'}, even though that's a bit 
redundant... To a Klingon, to win is to function perfectly. The opposite 
notion, 'lose', is commonly {luj}, also meaning 'fail'." (Okrand in HolQeD 
2.4)



--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons






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