tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 30 09:54:24 2008
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RE: Hov machqu' luchenmoHlu'ta'bogh lulaQ 'e' lunab tejpu'
Voragh:
>>> "Scientists plan to ignite tiny man-made star"
>>> Hov machqu' luchenmoHlu'ta'bogh lulaQ 'e' lunab tejpu'
>>
>> Still not satisfied with how I translated the article's title...
>> ? ngebbogh Hov'e' 'ej machqu'bogh ...
>> Cf.
>> SuDbogh Dargh 'ej wovbogh The tea that is {SuD} and light. KGT
>> or:
>> ? ngebbogh 'ej machqu'bogh Hov ...
>> Cf.
>> romuluSngan Sambogh 'ej HoHbogh nejwI'
>> Romulan hunter-killer probe. KCD
>
SuStel:
>Unless the phrase is a tight unit, it's usually better to state the noun
>at the earliest opportunity. Notice that Okrand was translating
>"hunter-killer," which has been turned into a single word even in
>English. He may have done this subconsciously, but that only proves the
>point.
It's interesting that Okrand used relative clauses instead of creating two nouns: {SamwI' HoHwI' je nejwI'}. (Cf. the odd, possibly poetic form {yoHbogh matlhbogh je SuvwI'} "the warrior brave and true" in the Anthem.) Even more interesting considering that Okrand also told us in KCD that {HoHwI'} is the short form for the longer, more awkward {romuluSngan Sambogh 'ej HoHbogh nejwI'}.
There's another example of a noun phrase often viewed as an inseparable single word in English:
yoq yIn yuQ 'oH Qo'noS'e'. yInSIp voQSIp je ngaS muDDaj.
Qo'noS is a class-M planet with an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. S27
This contains two such examples of Trek- or scifi-speak:
yoq yIn yuQ
class-M planet
yInSIp voQSIp je ngaS muDDaj.
oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere
["its atmosphere contains oxygen and nitrogen"]
>Relative and subordinate clauses are, Type 9 suffixes notwithstanding,
>still complete sentences, and thus use sentence conjunctions. When
>eliding nouns, one typically keeps the first noun and elides the
>subsequent ones. This also applies to the sentence-as-object construction.
>
>In this case, however, since there is no symmetry between the two verbs
>modifying {Hov}, I see no reason not to use the verb of quality
>adjectivally.
>
>Also notice that using {-'e'} as a disambiguator is unnecessary here, as
>there is no way to mistake the head noun.
>
>Don't use {lu-} on the {--lu'} verb unless the object is plural.
I always get confused using {lu-}, {-lu'} and {-bogh} together!
Voragh:
>> Also, {ngeb} "be counterfeit, be false, be fake" ("be artificial"?)
>> is simpler than {luchenmoHlu'ta'bogh} "which has been
>> constructed/created/made" but doesn't have quite the impact.
Thinking this over, the alleged subtleties would probably be lost on the average Klingon-speaker. E.g. {may' ngeb} CK, {HIq ngeb} TKW, {muD ngeb} BOP.
SuStel:
> Hov machqu' chenmoHlu'ta'bogh lumeQchoHmoH tej 'e' lunab.
When the second clause is so short - {lunab} - my preference is to move the subject to the end. Okrand has also done this once AFAIK:
qagh, ro'qegh'Iwchab, targh tIq Sop 'e' lungIl Humanpu' puS
Few humans dare to eat gagh, rokeg blood pie, or heart of targ. S21
but this is a matter of personal style. Even though they're not SAO's, compare the placement of the subject in {SuDbogh Dargh 'ej wovbogh} vs. {Sambogh 'ej HoHbogh nejwI'}.
--
Voragh
Canon Master of the Klingons