tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Feb 22 13:31:17 2007

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Re: Dilbert Comic in Klingon for February 10, 2007

Doq ([email protected])



Much of what follows is just a matter of style. I'm less interested  
in correcting you than I am in offering you exposure to other  
interpretations of how this might be legitimately translated. It's  
just one more opinion to add to the heap of opinions your posts  
generate.

There are errors here that I have corrected in my offerings. You  
changed "goal" to "goals" for no obvious reason in the first  
sentence. In the second one, you shifted person from first to second  
implying "I will decompose in your chair". I've never seen the verb  
"qom" you used in the third sentence, and I'm hoping you weren't  
trying to use {qonHa'} for "decompose". There has been a lot of  
discussion about using {chenHa'moH} for "decompose", but he's not  
promising to move any part of his body enough to disintegrate. He's  
just saying he'll rot in his chair. You don't need to misuse {'e'} in  
the third sentence. Just say {ngeDlaw'} or {ngeDlaw' ngoQvam.}  The  
fourth one is fine as is, though I'd use {pIj} instead of {roD} just  
because "half the time" isn't enough for me to use {roD}. Also, I  
prefer to sit in a chair rather than simply "be" there.

Again, this is all just opinion and suggestion. You can decide the  
value of the suggestions by seeing whether or not you feel they  
clearly express the meaning of the sentences being translated.

Doq

On Feb 20, 2007, at 11:23 PM, pm5 wrote:

> Greetings Warriors:
>
> Here is my translation for dialogues in [Dilbert Comic for February
> 10, 2007][1].  Instead of a word-to-word translation I tried to make
> the sentences more Klingon-like. Corrections and advises are welcome.
>
>         pIn: {wa' nem ngoQmeylIj DangeDchoHmoHlaw' 'e' vISaH.} (1)
>        Boss: "I'm concerned that you might be low-balling
>         your goal for the coming year."

wa'nem'e' tlhoy ngeDmo' ngoQlIj jIbelHa'.

>         pIn: {mu'tlheghvam vItu'.  <quSlIjDaq jIqomHa'rupchoHmoH>
>         bIja'.} (2)
>        Boss: "For example, this one says you will 'decompose
>         in you chair.'"

bIjatlh <<quSwIjDaq jInonchoH.>>

>         pIn: {ngeDlaw' 'e'.} (3)
>        Boss: "That sounds easy."

ngeDlaw' ngoQvam.

>      DIlbot: {ghobe'.  roD quS pImDaq jIH.} (4)
>     Dilbert: "Not really.  Half of the time I'm in a
>         different chair."

ghobe'. pIj quS pImDaq jIba'.

>  [1]:http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/ 
> dilbert-20070210.html
>
> I chose noun-noun construction to translate the heavily debated "goal
> for the coming year" in (1) because the topic of this sentence is the
> (overly easy) goal, not the year
> that is coming.
>
> For sentence (2) how would you tranlate "for example"?  I rephrased it
> to {mu'tlheghvam vItu'} "I found this sentence" but I'd prefer
> something closer to the original.
>
> pm5







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