[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: QaD

[Felix Malmenbeck]

> I don’t have a copy of paq’batlh, just various extracts.

> Can someone check the original (and the second edition).


This takes place towards the beginning of the story, as Kahless is making his way to Gre'thor.


I suspect the "river of" bit may have been omitted for the sake of brevity, and because the rivery nature of the blood had already been established in the previous canto:


Then he sees bright red

At the end of his fall

It is a river, blood-colored.


The blood streams carry him

To the great gates of Gre'thor,

The land from where none return.


ghIq pum 'e' mev

bIQtIq Doq legh

bIQtIq nguvmoH 'Iw


ghe'tor lojmIt'a'Daq

'Iw bIQtIq ghoS

naDevvo' chegh pagh


(This is from the first edition.)


//loghaD

________________________________
From: tlhIngan-Hol <tlhingan-hol-bounces at lists.kli.org> on behalf of Steven Boozer via tlhIngan-Hol <tlhingan-hol at lists.kli.org>
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2023 5:10:11 PM
To: tlhingan-hol at kli.org
Cc: Steven Boozer
Subject: Re: [tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: QaD

Here’s what I have in my notes:

'Iw bIQtIqvo'
   toS SuvwI' yoH
   puH QaDDaq paw
The fearless warrior
   Climbs out of the blood
   Onto dry land.    [paq'raD, Canto 1, Stanza 4]

If “river of” wasn’t accidentally omitted from the English, the image may be there’s more blood than water in the River of Blood after this confrontation.

I don’t have a copy of paq’batlh, just various extracts.  Can someone check the original (and the second edition).  Thanks.

Voragh

P.S.  I’m reminded of when Quark said to Grilka after defeating a rival for her affections (with Worf’s computer-aided assistance) in DS9 "Looking for par'Mach in All the Wrong Places":  “This is ridiculous! I’m surrounded by corpses, my shoes are dripping in blood—and you want me to feel romantic?!”

____________________________________________________________
From: Will Martin via tlhIngan-Hol

The English translation omits the word “river”. Shouldn’t that be, “The brave warrior climbs out of the river of blood onto dry land.”? It seems to lose the sense of scale in terms of the horror to not mention that there’s enough blood there to fill a river. I mean, if the Klingon were in a pool of blood up to his neck, one would expect him to be relatively comfortable, aside from being wet (“Do you mean we’re just supposed to SIT here?”), but he proves his fearlessness by actually swimming across a river, presumably weighted down with weaponry and armor. THAT takes ENDURANCE.

On Feb 16, 2023, at 10:11 AM, Steven Boozer via tlhIngan-Hol <tlhingan-hol at lists.kli.org<mailto:tlhingan-hol at lists.kli.org>> wrote:

...
'Iw bIQtIqvo' toS SuvwI' yoH puH QaDDaq paw
The fearless warrior climbs out of the blood onto dry land. (PB)
...

--
Voragh, Ca'Non Master of the Klingons


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