tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Feb 23 20:51:11 2007

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Re: Dilbert Comic in Klingon for February 10, 2007

McArdle ([email protected])



[email protected] wrote:  In a message dated 2/23/2007 11:28:37 AM Central Standard Time, 
[email protected] writes:

> You can't translate "please" into Klingon any 
> more than you can translate "photon torpedo" into Latin.
> 

Latin is easy. Ancient Egyptian or Sumerian is hard.

lay'tel SIvten



  One approach to the problem would be to create a paraphrase out of native terminology.  The Egyptians and Sumerians had no torpedoes, but they did have projectile weapons.  They didn't know about photons, but they did know about light and fragments.  The phrase "arrow of fragments of light" would be translatable into either of these languages, though a native speaker might have trouble understanding the concept of such a weapon, or for that matter the idea that light could be composed of discrete particles.  For that matter, I'm not sure I understand what a "photon torpedo" might be, except that it is a projectile involving light particles in some way.
   
  Using "crumb" for "fragment", this phrase would be (roughly; I'm no expert):
   
  Egyptian:  swnt m jwbwt m mAwt
   
  Sumerian:  [gi?]kak-pana li? bu7-a
   
  Hoch Savan
   
  mIq'ey

 
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