tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 25 12:50:16 2009
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RE: frasier Klingon
Sogh veS joH ([email protected]) wrote:
>A friend of mine pointed out a clip from an episode of Frasier where
>Frasier inadvertently blesses his son at his Barmitzfah in Klingon
>mistaking it for Yiddish; then my friend asked if I could translate it.
>I can't quite make out what he is saying (it's very poorly pronounced and
>interrupted) and all my book are still locked away from me until I get
>back from Iraq.
>
>I came up with what I think he is trying to say and a VERY rough
>translation. I am sure I got some things and most wrong. If anyone
>could help, I would appreciate it.
>
>puqlod wI'le' qo'o. Hagh jaj. cho' Ho'ov mo'aQ. lenglIj lo'o teb. jaj
>lengwIj. vaD veragh. Sov'e' Da nob'e'. po'Ho bo'agh.
>
>Son, see the world. Laugh daily. Succeed ... See Morewith admirable
>motives. Travel fulfills a use. Travel daily. Be a flexible rivet.
>Knowledge is a gift, behave like it is. Be an expert.
>
>My friend phonetically copied it as;
>Pookh lod wih le koo. Hach jahj cho-koov-moakh leng-lidge loo-Teb-jahj
>leng widge-vahd bel rahp shoave dah-nobe-poo- boagh.
It's the episode entitled "Star Mitzvah" (11/05/2002 [NBC]). Holtej reports that a friend of Marc Okrand told him that Okrand did indeed translate the lines for the show. He also offered to coach the actors with pronunciation, but they declined. Here are the closed captions which aired during the episode:
Pookh lod wih le koo
Hach jahj cho-koov-moakh
Leng-lidge lou-teb
Jahj leng widge-vahd bel rahp
Shoave dah-nobe-poo-boagh
Berman, one of the boys present at the bar mitzvah, translated it for Frasier's son, revealing that it was a real blessing after all, just in the wrong language:
"My dearest son, each day you redeem me. May your journey
be filled with the same joy, wisdom, and purpose you have
given mine."
puqloDwI' le'qu' - Hoch jaj choquvmoH. lenglIj lutebjaj
lengwIjvaD bel rap, Sov [rap, ngoQ rap je] Danobpu'bogh.
Marc Okrand writes about this scene in HolQeD 11.4 (Dec. 2002) p. 11:
The main difference between what aired and what I submitted, however,
has nothing to do with transcription, but rather the absence of "purpose."
Somehow, somewhere in the process, four words got dropped. Had the four
words remained, Berman's translation would have matched what Frasier said,
and Maltz would not have been so awed by Berman's skill.
The four words omitted by actor Kelsey Grammer are bracketed above. That's probably one of the reasons you were having trouble reconstructing the Klingon original!
Qapla'!
--
Voragh
Canon Master of the Klingons