tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jun 06 07:45:33 2005
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Re: More on Ray Charles
juDmoS:
> >> matay' 'e' Hoch ram vInajtaH 'e' DaSovbe'
> >> "You don't know that I dream each night that we are together."
> >>
> >>Well? whattaya think? Does that work?
jang ghunchu'wI':
> >{naj} is defined for us as "dream", not "dream about". I will underst=
and
> >what is intended when someone uses it with an object, but absent canon
> >support I will not do it myself.
QeS lagh:
>Well put. We don't know that {naj} can sensibly take an object - althoug=
h
>that said, I think {matay' 'e' vInaj} is more likely to be grammatical t=
han
>{qanaj}, since we've used other verbs in that way.
Here's the canon on {naj}:
When going to sleep, Klingons generally have nothing in particular
to express to one another. There are a few set phrases, however, that
parents frequently say to their children, and the same expressions
are commonly used by good friends, particularly on a night before
a battle. One of these phrases is {yInajchu'} ("dream well"; literally=
,
a command: "Dream perfectly!") ... The original full expressions, then=
,
were {maj, ngaj ram} ("Good, the night is short"), suggesting that it
would not be long before the next day's activities could begin, or {ma=
j,
nI' ram} ("Good, the night is long"), suggesting that there was ample
opportunity for rejuvenation and meaningful dreaming." (KGT 119-20)
A particularly meaningful dream would be:
bInajtaHvIS qeylIS Daghomjaj
May you encounter Kahless in your dreams! PK
There's also a derivative of {naj}:
Among the songs sung exclusively to or by children is the {najmoHwI'}
(literally, "one that causes one to dream"), or lullaby" (KGT 77f.)
One of these was mentioned in VGR "Human Error": *Qoung vaj macht* "Slee=
p=20
Little Warrior" =96 sic for *{Qong, vaj mach}? Qong} is presumably clipp=
ed=20
here (and, of course, the writers should have used {SuvwI'} instead of {v=
aj}).
juDmoS:
> >>Okay, a minor recast, then..
> >>
> >> vInajtaHvIS Hoch ram matay' 'e' Dasovbe' .
> >> "You don't know that we are together each night in my dreams (when I=
'm=20
> dreaming)."
> >>
> >>It sounds more ... I don't know, ponderous that way, but it's more=20
> grammatically
> >>correct, Klingon-wise, yes? (naj) no longer has an object... and=20
> whether "you
> >>don't know that I dream about us being together" or "you don't know=20
> that we are
> >>together when I dream", the essential point is still conveyed.
Based on the PK example - which might be also translated as "May you drea=
m=20
of Kahless" - {naj} does not take an object, and so your recast should us=
e=20
the no-object prefix {jI-}:
Hoch ram jInajtaHvIS, matay' 'e' Dasovbe' .
"Each night when I'm dreaming, you don't know that we're together."
jInajtaHvIS, Hoch ram matay' 'e' Dasovbe' .
"When I'm dreaming, you don't know that we're together each night."
It sounds clumsy in English, but not apparently in Klingon.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons