tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Mar 01 09:05:07 2005
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Re: unique Klingon
juDmoS wrote:
>I was trying to come up with a way to say "unique" in Klingon...and have
>had some difficulty. I decided to ask in this forum. The actual phrase I
>was working on is from Jimmy Buffet's book, "A Salty Piece of Land". The
>quote was something to do with "the aboriginal belief that..."life's
>adventures are the verses and choruses of your unique song, and when it is
>over, you are dead."
The closest I could come up with is {le'} "be special, be
exceptional". The negative form {le'be'} is glossed "be unexceptional, be
nonspecific" in KGT. If this isn't unique enough for you (!), try
{le'qu'}, as in this bit from the Frasier episode:
puqloDwI' le'qu', Hoch jaj choquvmoH.
My dearest son, each day you redeem me.
Since Frasier has only one son, he is unique.
>I couldn't find an appropriate Klingon word/phrase for "adventure"..which
>carries the necessary connotation of hazard/risk requiring boldness.
Okrand finesses it in SkyBox DS99:
HaDlu'meH, QuSlu'meH, SuDlu'meH lojmIt Da logh Hop Hut tengchaH.
vaj loghDaq lenglaHtaH Humanpu'
space station Deep Space Nine is the gateway for the exploration,
intrigue and enterprise that mark the continuation of the human
adventure into space...
One doesn't always accomplish an adventure, unless you see the adventure
itself as a process, not a goal , as Okrand did in the above quote. I
think {Qu'} "duty, quest, mission, task, chore" works as it seems to be a
fairly general term in Klingon; cf.
Qu'Daj ta'taHvIS Hegh 'e' tul Hoch tlhIngan
To die in the line of duty is the hope of every Klingon. TKW
Qu' buSHa'chugh SuvwI', batlhHa' vangchugh, qoj matlhHa'chugh, pagh ghaH
SuvwI''e'
If a warrior ignores duty, acts dishonorably, or is disloyal, he is
nothing. TKW
>I opted for - yInwIj ta'mey - (accomplishments of your life), as in
If you're going to use {ta'} then drop the redundant {yInlIj} "your life"
and just say {ta'meylIj}. Note, however, that {ta'} "deed, accomplishment"
focuses on results, not the adventure or journey {leng} itself. Hmm...
{yIn leng} "life's journey" isn't bad for this idea.
>I'm soliciting both advice on better ways to say this, and for ways to say
>"unique". Any and all help of a constructive nature is appreciated.
Well, you asked! <g>
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons