tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jun 24 22:28:38 2009

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Re: [KLBC?] word order and sentence in General.

Doq ([email protected])



The BG has spoken, and others have stepped in with opinions, so here's  
one more.

While {qavan, ghojmoHwI'pu' tejpu' je} is technically acceptable, it  
would probably feel a little more natural as {ghojmoHwI'pu' tejpu' je  
qavan}.

While {DaHjaj} is technically correct, given Okrand's usage, you might  
consider {jajvam} when speaking of "today" as other than a time stamp.  
You also might tighten it up to be more concise -- a Klingon virtue,  
and come up with something like {motlh jajvam.}

And just to speak my version of the comment about overkill, I'd go for  
either {jIcheghbej} or {jIjegh 'e' yIHonQo'}. "I definitely will  
return," or "Do not doubt that I will return." You don't want to say  
"Do not doubt that I will definitely return." It just seems wordy and  
redundant. It sounds overly forced, like a weak person making an empty  
threat and puffing it up to compensate for its lack of substance.

Keep in mind that any time you would use {'e'}, grammatically, you are  
connecting two SEPARATE sentences. If you drop the {'e'}, then a comma  
doesn't really do it for me. Okrand has never really explained Klingon  
punctuation, but in general, I think we can assume that periods  
separate sentences and commas don't. You have two main verbs separated  
by a comma, and that's not really good form. I'm sure there are  
special cases where this is not strictly true, but I'm unconvinced  
this is one of them.

Nothing you have written is WRONG. It is clearly understood by several  
skilled Klingon speakers. Do not be discouraged or think that I  
disrespect your growing skill. I'm merely offering my spin on style  
points. Others will likely disagree. I just thought that as you learn,  
you can learn better by looking at the same example through different  
perspectives. I think you are good enough to learn from different  
perspectives.

Doq

On Jun 24, 2009, at 4:45 PM, Thorwald Peeters wrote:

> qavan, ghoj[moH]wI'pu' QeDwI'pu' je
>
> I have once translated the following sentence on the fly, and now am
> questioning the validity.
>
> Hoch jajmey rur DaHjaj. jIcheghbej, yIHonQo'
>
> is supposed to mean (in German)
>
> Heute ist wie alle tage, ich komm wieder, keine frage!
>
> which can be translated to English so:
>
> Today is like any other day, I'll be back. without a doubt.
>
> Did I do well? I am not happy about the position of [rur], and wonder
> whether it's not too short.
>
> -- 
> Thorwald Peeters
>
>
>
>
>







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