June 2021 - tlhIngan-Hol

New words from Hamletmachine
by Lieven L. Litaer 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

For the creation of the play {mu' mu' mu'} by the Dutch theatre company URLAND that premiered on 4th of March 2020, I was asked to translate a German play into Klingon, which was partially used in their play. The play "Die Hamletmaschine" by German author Heiner Müller was written in 1977, is internationally known and has been translated into several languages. During translation work, I got help from Marc Okrand who could discuss some useful information with Maltz. Due to some copyright situations, I cannot publish the translation right now, but I do not want to keep those words hidden until publication until then, so here we go. For a clearer and more "colorful" overview, see the page at the Klingon Language wiki: http://klingon.wiki/En/Hamletmachine Body parts: == Okrand quote == {nev'ob} refers to both the "thigh" and the "upper arm" (above the elbow). Similarly, {reStav} refers to both the "shin" and the "forearm." If it's necessary to make a distinction, precede these words with {'uS} or {DeS}. {cha'neH}, when used alone, means "forearm." But when preceded by {'uS}, it means "lower part of the leg." You could also say {DeS cha'neH} for "forearm," but this would probably be used only in a context where you were talking about both the forearm and the lower leg and wanted to clarify which was which. {reStav} is "shin," meaning the front of the lower leg. (I assume "Schienbein" is "shin bone." {reStav} is more than just the bone. The only way Maltz was aware of for referring to the bone is {reStav Hom}.) {Do'ghI'} is "calf," meaning the back of the lower leg ("Wade," presumably). == Okrand quote end == Clarifying "hang": == Okrand quote == {HuS} takes an object. If your shoes are hanging on a wall it's because somebody hung them there. {HuS} is not used to mean "lynch" or "execute by hanging." That's a different word: {jIb}. (Maltz thought maybe an early form of torture or execution was hanging people by their hair, but he wasn't totally sure about this and may have just been reacting to the homophony.) And there's another word: {tlhep} "be suspended, be dangling." Use {HuS} if, for example, you hang your coat on a hook on the wall or hang sheets on a clothesline to dry. But if, say, you see a spider dangling at the bottom of one of those silk threads that spiders extrude, use {tlhep}. Or if you see a pair of shoes tied together by the laces and, for whatever reason, they're hanging by the tied-together laces from an overhead power wire, use {tlhep}. == Okrand quote end == Okrand agreed that {jIb'egh} is "suicide by hanging". Next, there was a question about a "concubine": == Okrand quote == Maltz thought the best word for this might be {lIwnal}, though maybe not: the cultural connotations are a bit different since, in Klingon culture, everything associated with a {lIwnal} lacks honor, and this is not necessarily the case for a (Terran) king's concubines or courtesans. Note that only married people could have a partner who could be considered a {lIwnal}. Also, {lIwnal} could be male or female, so if it's necessary to distinguish, say {loD lIwnal} or {be' lIwnal}. == Okrand quote end == More words: {ghenlan} - Greenland (country) {qaw'} - flip over {qaw'moH} - flip over (i.e. "make something flip over") {rIv} - split {vIrgh} - rip (up), slash, tear (up), gash {'o'nI'} - foam, froth Not new words, but combined translations: {DeSwar bIr} - refrigerator {jorchan velqa'} - stage decoration {much jech} - costume {much yaH} - stage {qab jech} - mask Transliterations: {qo'qa' qo'la'} - Coca Cola {lIyenIn} - Lenin {maw} - Mao The question for a "stage" was answered with a general statement: == Okrand quote == Any place specifically designated for the performance of a specific task (or tasks) is a {yaH}. A stage is the {yaH} for the performance of plays or, perhaps, music. A football field is the {yaH} for a football game. A laboratory is a scientist's {yaH}. And, of course, on a ship, a {yaH} is a duty station. If context isn't enough to clarify what sort of {yaH} it is, you can say things like {much yaH}, {QoQ yaH}, {tamlerQeD yaH}, etc. == Okrand quote end == There's an idiom for "kill time": {'ebmey jonHa'} Talking about a "virgin", Okrand suggested saying it literally what a virgin is: {pagh ngaghpu'bogh be'} or {not vay' ngaghpu'bogh be'} Doing so, he answered the question if {ngagh} can be used with people. And in case anyone wondered, {jach} is a good verb to describe what a {jajlo' Qa'} does. -- Lieven L. Litaer aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany" http://www.klingonisch.de http://klingon.wiki/En/Hamletmachine

8 29

Maus-words: News from Okrand
by Lieven L. Litaer 13 Mar '23

13 Mar '23

TL;DR: one new word {valqe'} "bat (animal)" Hello my friends, today is the 50-anniversary of a German children sho named "Die Sendung mit der Maus" (i.e. "the show with the mouse"). The topic of this episode was a view into the future, so it was obvious to make a Klingon introduction, of which I am very proud to provide it to them. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRgryUjxWes --------------------------------------------- Not only the TV show, also the podcast version of the entire week needed Klingon introductions, and those caused some problems which were answered by Maltz as follows: Quoted lines are my questions, lines starting with >>> are Okrand's words. --------------------------------------------- > leap year > - A year in which February has 29 days. 2020 was a "leap year". >>> Make use of the phrase {bur DIS}, as in, for example {qatlh bur 'op DISmey?} > bat > - small animal that can fly but is not a bird, looks quite creepy and > can see in the dark due to his sonar voice; sleeps hanging upside down, usually found in caves. >>> The closest Qo'noS equivalent is a flying beast called a {valqe'}. You can decide whether you want to say {tera' valqe'} for purposes of the TV show. > hibernate, overwinter > - what many animals do during the winter; a bear can hibernate. Also > the bats we talk above. They hide in caves and sleep there for a very > long time. [Added information: with bats, and where they overwinter, > (so the word is more about "winter" than "sleep")] >>> Maltz didn't know of any special way to say "overwinter." He said to just say something like {qaStaHvIS qImroq bIrqu', nuqDaq Qong valqe'mey?} if that covers what they're driving at. > material > - There is the word {Hap} "matter" that appears in many materials > (e.g. {Sor Hap} "wood"), but can it be used as "material"? Can I say > {Hapmey} for "several materials"? >>> {Hap} (without {-mey}) should work. > the future > - When I say a phrase like "In the future, nobody will be poor", may I > add {-Daq} to {tuch}? {tuchDaq mamIp}?? Or must it be something like > {qaSDI' tuch}? >>> {qaSDI' tuch} should work. > Can I say {to'waQ wIyIv} for "chewing gum"? >>> There is an idiomatic expression {to'waQ yIv} that means to take some time to consider a matter, but its meaning comes from the fact that {to'waQ} takes a relatively long time to chew (before swallowing), compared to other things you might be chewing, like muscle. It does not follow from this that Klingons chew {to'waQ} for pleasure, just because the flavor lingers longer or because it works off nervous energy. Maybe {req} would be better than {to'waQ} since, if you were to chew {req}, you'd probably be doing it just for the purpose of chewing (and whatever pleasure or benefit that may bring in and of itself), unlike {to'waQ}, which you'd be chewing for the purpose of grinding it up so you could finally swallow it. ------------------------------------- This will be archived at https://qephom.de/e/message_from_maltz.html -- Lieven L. Litaer aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany" http://www.tlhInganHol.com http://klingon.wiki/En/DieSendungMitDerMaus

8 14

pseudo-Klingon words from the paq'batlh
by De'vID 27 May '22

27 May '22

What do people think about the following Klingon "words" from paq'batlh? They don't appear in the main (Klingon-language) text, but are used in otherwise English sentences in the introduction or footnotes. xxii. {Huy'reH} "aria style" xxii, 62, 87. {cha'ang} "chorus style" xvii, xxii, xxxv. {Qich'lut} "narrator style" xix. {paq'jachchu} "Book of the Perfect Scream" {Huy'reH} and {cha'ang}, at least, seem to follow proper modern {tlhIngan Hol} phonology. {Qich'lut} has a lower-cased "i" and an out-of-place {qaghwI'}. {paq'jachchu} has that apostrophe after {paq} and a missing {qaghwI'} at the end (if the {jachchu} part is indeed the verb {jachchu'}, as the English translation seems to indicate). On p.xxx, it is explicitly stated that the name {paq'batlh} is in {no' Hol} and that the apostrophe may be a clue to some missing grammatical element. Of course, the book also has sections named {paq'yav}, {paq'raD}, and {paq'QIH}. So {paq'jachchu} is probably just spelled weirdly for the same reason. Should {Huy'reH} and {cha'ang} be accepted as canon Klingon words as-is? In other words, would you expect them in a new words list? (In particular, I am asking if they should be listed in {boQwI'}.) The word {Qich'lut} is spelled that way all three times it appears in the book. I notice that in previous discussions on this mailing list, 'IQqu' and Voragh have both spelled it as {QIch lut} (capital-I, no apostrophe, space between the two words). Should {QIch lut} be accepted as the "modern" spelling for the purpose of look-up in word lists? -- De'vID

12 50

'op after the noun
by mayqel qunen'oS 04 Apr '22

04 Apr '22

The {'op} is defined as "some, an unknown or unspecified quantity", and in the Ca'Non example of Skybox 7 it is used as {'op SuvwI'} i.e in front of a countable noun which doesn't have the plural suffix. The relevant part of that sentence is: {DujvamDaq 'op SuvwI' tu'lu'bogh po' law' tlhIngan yo' SuvwI' law' po' puS} Suppose we say {'op na'ran Soppu' qeSHoS}. Then this could mean either "the fox ate some/an unspecified quantity of an orange", or "the fox ate some/an unspecified quantity of oranges". Perhaps one could argue that based on the Ca'Non example of the Skybox 7, "the 'op before a singular noun is to be interpreted as referring to a plural number of that noun". But I don't know if one could argue that, since in this Ca'Non example, interpreting the {SuvwI'} as being singular is impossible. Because, if interpreting the {SuvwI'} as being singular was possible, then that would mean that "the klingon vessel pagh has some/an unspecified quantity of a warrior", i.e. on the pagh happen to serve some of the most skilled legs/arms/DaynguHDu'/whatever of a warrior in the klingon fleet. Of course in star trek everything is possible, on the other hand though, I think that one could come to the following conclusion with regards to the {'op}: Placing the {'op} before a countable noun which has no plural suffix, could mean either "some, an unknown or unspecified quantity of that noun (singular)" or "some, an unknown or unspecified quantity of a number of that noun". While placing the {'op} before an uncountable noun can only mean ""some/an unspecified quantity of that noun (singular)". Of course, I don't know for sure if this conclusion would be correct.. But now let's get back to the fox.. If I write {'op na'ranmey Soppu' qeSHoS}, then this obviously means ""the fox ate some/an unspecified quantity of oranges". But my problem is that this is ambiguous in the following way: Did the fox walk in the house, find an unspecified quantity of oranges and ate them all ? Or did the fox walk into the house, found 40 oranges and ate some of them ? And if the fox indeed ate only some of the oranges, then why not write {na'ranmey 'op Soppu' qeSHoS} ? After all, we *can* write {pItSa' HochHom Soppu' vIghro' tIQ} for "the ancient cat ate almost all of the pizza". ~ Qa'yIn

3 5

an observation on the use of {vI'} "decimal point"
by mayqel qunen'oS 15 Jul '21

15 Jul '21

Read the following Ca'Non sentences: HIvtaHvIS toQDuj cha'vatlh wejmaH Soch vI' vagh chorgh 'uj 'ab 'oH Attack Formation Height: 82.75 M. (KBoP) qughtaHvIS toQDuj HutmaH vI' jav wa' 'uj 'ab 'oH Cruise Formation Height: 31.56 M. (KBoP) SaqtaHvIS toQDuj wa'vatlh loS vI' jav chorgh 'uj 'ab 'oH Landing Formation Height: 36.46 M. (KBoP) At the above sentences we see, that the decimal numbers (if that's how you call in english the crap that follows the decimal point), is given by saying each number separately, instead of reading the whole number as a unit: > vI' vagh chorgh > decimal point five eight - not {vaghmaH chorgh} - > vI' jav wa' > decimal point six one - not {javmaH wa'} - > vI' jav chorgh > decimal point six eight - not {javmaH chorgh} - ~ Dana'an

6 5

expressing "the accused was sentenced" and "the sentence was carried out"
by mayqel qunen'oS 09 Jul '21

09 Jul '21

In english we say "the accused was sentenced by the court", and "the sentence was carried out". I was wondering how we could say these in the so-called warrior's tongue.. Suppose I wrote: yoj maqpu' bo'DIj the court proclaimed the judgement yoj turlu'ta' the judgement was carried out Would the above be appropriate? Or is there a better way of expressing the desired meanings? ~ Dana'an

3 4

Klingon Word of the Day: Sam
by Klingon Word of the Day 04 Jul '21

04 Jul '21

Klingon Word of the Day for Tuesday, June 29, 2021 Klingon word: Sam Part of speech: noun Definition: shawm Source: qepHom 2018 This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

5 7

Klingon Word of the Day: nguDwI'
by Klingon Word of the Day 30 Jun '21

30 Jun '21

Klingon Word of the Day for Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Klingon word: nguDwI' Part of speech: noun Definition: glue Source: qep'a' 26 This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

2 1

qep'a' cha'maH chorgDIch -- act now
by Alan Anderson 29 Jun '21

29 Jun '21

pel'aQ ghorpa' yIvang! Time's running out! The Klingon Language Institute's qep'a' cha'maH chorghDIch 28th Great Meeting starts in just over three weeks. It runs from July 22-24, 2021. You can register to attend until shortly before the conference begins, but if you want the official qep'a' t-shirt you only have until tomorrow to do so. After July 30, shirts will no longer be available. Go to https://www.kli.org/activities/qepmey/qepa-chamah-chorghdich/ for information and a link to the registration page. We feature three special guests this year: - Rea Nolan, dialog coach for Star Trek: Discovery - Marc Okrand, creator of the Klingon language - Mary Chieffo, actress known for portraying Chancellor L'Rell

1 0

using the verb {ja'} without the prefix trick
by mayqel qunen'oS 29 Jun '21

29 Jun '21

I know that perhaps this is a ridiculous thing to ask, but I'll ask anyway, just to make certain. The only Ca'Non examples of the verb {ja'} which I know of, come from tkd and they are the following: {nuja'rup} "they are prepared to tell us" {qaja'pu' HIqaghQo'} or {HIqaghQo' qaja'pu'} "I told you not to interrupt me" In these Ca'Non examples the "prefix trick" way of use is employed (I don't know how else to describe it), i.e we don't have {maHvaD ja'rup}, and we don't have {SoHvaD jIja'pu' HIqaghQo'}/{HIqaghQo' SoHvaD jIja'pu'}. So, the thing I'm wondering is this.. Is it necessary that whenever we use the {ja'} we need to use it the "prefix trick" way? Can't we use it with the {-vaD} way too? ~ Dana'an

2 1