tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jul 28 11:05:42 2010
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RE: 'u': the first authentic Klingon opera on earth
may' ghe'naQ lumuchrup tera'nganpu'.
We Terrans will be performing an authentic battle opera.
SuStel:
>You may be mixing up direct address and apposition. "We Terrans are
>ready to perform a battle-opera" (to paraphrase the quotation) uses
>apposition to link "we" and "Terrans." Klingon occasionally uses
>apposition, but it has never expressed this English apposition with a
>disagreeing verb prefix and argument. {may' ghe'naQ lumuchrup
>tera'nganpu'} is simply, "Terrans are ready to present a battle-opera."
>The Klingon does not express the "we = Terrans" part of the English at
>all.
Did you notice that Okrand finessed pronoun apposition in another sentence:
wanI'vam Dun luleghlaHmeH tlhIngan SuvwI' Duypu' bongeH 'e'
lutul tera'nganpu'.
We hope that you can send a delegation of honorable emissaries
to witness this glorious event.
Although the English source isn't precisely "We Terrans", the Klingon is "Terrans hope that you will send emissaries..." Looking on the context of the Message as a whole, you see that the entire thing is from We (Terrans) to You (Klingons):
yuQmajDaq may' ghe'naQ wa'DIch wIQoybogh 'oH <<'u'>>. [sic]
<<'u'>> will be the first authentic battle opera performed
on our planet.
ghe'naQ Daqvo' QInvam wIlab.
We will place a homing device transmitting this message
at the site of the opera.
qeylIS wIquvmoHtaHvIS chetlhej wIneH.
We hope you can join us while we honor Kahless.
By alternating 1st person plural verb prefixes (i.e. {wI-}) with {tera'nganpu'}, it appears Okrand was trying to finesse the problem. Has anyone ever asked him about this straight out?
--
Voragh
Canon Master of the Klingons