tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 22 11:39:30 2007
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Re: Dilbert Comic in Klingon for January 22, 2007
pm5 wrote:
>{Qatbot. beqpu' jo 'utlh mIgh.}
>"Catbert: Evil director of human resources."
Some vocabulary:
{beqpu'} "crewmen" (pl. - as individuals)
{beq} "crew, (ship's) company" (collective pl., exclusive of officers)
{wey} "company (military unit)" (collective pl.)
A ship's full complement of personnel, crew plus officers, is called
a {wey}, perhaps best translated as "company." (KGT 50)
As it happens, Okrand did translate the term "personnel" using {ghot} "person":
ghotpu' tamey
"Personnel Files" STC
And of course, you could always go for the literal {Human jo} "human
resources (pl.)".
If Catbert is "evil", you probably don't want to use {'utlh}, which is used
for respected -retired- officers:
There is a second term for "officer", but it is not frequently used.
As is well known, it is considered the duty of officers on Klingon
ships to assassinate their immediate superior if the higher-ranking
officer has been judged unfit to serve, perhaps as a consequence of
neglecting his or her duty, demonstrating cowardice, or behaving
dishonorably. This practice extends even to the captain of the ship.
As a result, there are not many officers who end their service to the
Empire by simply stepping down or retiring. There are some, however,
and the word {'utlh} is used to refer to an officer of this type.
Perhaps "officer emeritus" is an appropriate translation. (KGT 50f)
[{mIl} "be formerly honored"] would be applied to a leader who left
office in disgrace, for example, or an ousted ship's captain. It
would not be used of a {'utlh}, an officer who has stepped down or
retired voluntarily and who is still respected. (HQ 12.3:8-9)
If not {'utlh}, then what? There's {DevwI'} "leader", {vu'wI'} "manager"
or {loHwI'} "administrator" and the slang term {ngup} "one in authority,
one in power, one in charge". But a better choice is {pIn} "boss" which is
used for the names of division officers on Klingon ships: {jonpIn}
engineering officer, {nuHpIn} weapons officer, {QeDpIn} science officer,
{QumpIn} communications officer. The KLI likes it and uses {tlhIngan Hol
yejHaD pIn} for "Klingon Language Institute Director".
Putting this all together, I would suggest *{weypIn} "(ship's) personnel
officer" or even *{ghotpIn} for a civilian director of personnel (omitting
the optional plural suffix from {ghotpu'}).
>nov: {tlhorp yuQDaq QeDpIn jIH. cham Danajbe'bogh vIqem.}
>alien: "I am a scientist from the planet Zorp. I bring you
> technologies beyond your imagination."
Why use {QeDpIn} "science officer" over the simpler {tej} "scientist"?
For "technology you cannot dream of" don't forget {-laH}: {cham
DanajlaHbe'bogh} - or even {cham'e' najlaHbe'bogh vay'} on the model of
{qeylIS'e' lIjlaHbe'bogh vay'} Kahless the Unforgettable ("Kahless, whom
none can forget") on SkyBox S8.
One caveat, {naj} "dream" may not take an object (i.e. "dream of
[something]"). Our example is:
bInajtaHvIS qeylIS Daghomjaj
May you encounter Kahless in your dreams! PK
("May you meet Kahless while you are dreaming.")
Since there's no verb for "imagine", you could substitute such transitive
verbs as {Sov} "know", {Qub} "think}, {yaj} "understand", etc. I think
{yaj} works best here: "technology you cannot (even) understand,
technology which no one can comprehend".
More to come...
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons