November 2022 - 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

Look what the vIghro' (or layyan, or taygher, or jeghwar) brought in.
by James Landau 19 Dec '22

19 Dec '22

Many new words for animals, clothes, and food! We can talk about bees now, and we finally have a word for "Ukraine"! It's also nice to have a word for turtleneck, since that's what I always wear. http://klingon.wiki/En/NewWordsQepHom2022 My first stab at the puns: Ho'latbeD (raison d'être / ikigai) -- Idol-shrine-bed janIj (bra) -- Backwards, this is *jInaj*: "I dream". Wonderbra? jva (confused prisoner) -- Jean Valjean? lachvoH (bee hive) -- Backwards, this is *Hov chal*, starry sky. Perhaps the Beyhive (as in, Beyoncé & Co.) is a "sky full of stars"? Aside from *'ImtIy*, though, Marc Okrand doesn't seem to make puns about twenty-first century pop culture. Or else he would've made the word for "beaver" something like *nItsaj* or *da'ghet*. maqSung (bee, wasp) -- "Proclaim native"? Or maybe there's an actor named Mac Sung or Max Unger or something who played a hymenopteran role? po'lIgh (sauce) -- Glop. waDwach (scarf) -- Backwards this is "chow down" -- the OTHER meaning of "scarf". wu'DIy (beaver) -- Woody, since beavers chew woody material.

5 6

Klingon Word of the Day: be'Hom
by Klingon Word of the Day 30 Nov '22

30 Nov '22

Klingon Word of the Day for Wednesday, November 30, 2022 Klingon word: be'Hom Part of speech: noun Definition: girl Source: TKD This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

1 0

Klingon Word of the Day: ngong
by Klingon Word of the Day 29 Nov '22

29 Nov '22

Klingon Word of the Day for Tuesday, November 29, 2022 Klingon word: ngong Part of speech: noun Definition: experiment Source: TKD This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

1 0

Klingon Word of the Day: chIw
by Klingon Word of the Day 28 Nov '22

28 Nov '22

Klingon Word of the Day for Monday, November 28, 2022 Klingon word: chIw Part of speech: verb Definition: express, embody, exude, epitomize Source: Star Trek Into Darkness, qepHom 2013 This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

1 0

«jIH je» and variations
by zrajm 28 Nov '22

28 Nov '22

Me, E.T., Thiago and pay'qagh discussed the phase «jIH je» on in the car here at the qepHom'a' in Saarbücken the other day (we were on our way to the party on Friday). – One of them said this topic has been discussed at some earlier meeting (a qep'a'?). I tried to search old tlhingan-hol postings, but I couldn't find anything on the subject. I've heard lots of people use the phrase «jIH je» to mean “Me too” – as in, for example, in an exchange like: «juH qach vIghaj» (“I have a house.”) «jIH je» (“Me too”) or «vIraS vIjaH vIneH» (“I want to go to France.”) «jIH je» (“Me too”) But I started to wonder what's going on in these phrases. I figure «jIH je» are abbreviations of the longer phrases «juH qach vIghaj je (jIH)» and «vIraS vIjaH vIneH je (jIH)». And, maybe, since the pronoun «jIH» is the only thing verb-like in the sentence, it acts a verb in the shortened phase, and the «je» therefore comes after it. (Though, with that interpretation, «jIH je» sounds more like “I am too” to my ears – but I remember taking about this with someone [HoD Qanqor? Seqram? Qov?] at a qep'a' at some point and getting pushback. – So clearly other people think differently.) But, what if «jIH» isn't a verb at all in that sentence? (Is there a verb requirement in Klingon sentences? If a lone adverb can act as a sentence [given adequate context] then maybe a noun [or a pronoun functioning as a noun] can too?) If that's so, wouldn't it mean that the sentences «juH qach vIghaj je jIH» and «vIraS vIjaH vIneH je jIH» should rather be abbreviated as «je jIH» (retaining the word order of the longer sentence)? Or maybe the response could even abbreviated to just «je»? – Though I figure the pronoun is quite likely to be used for emphasis since that is new information the responder is wishing to convey. So, what do you think? Is «je jIH» better than «jIH je»? And what are you arguments for your belief? – Or should the phrase be avoided altogether and expressed some other way? How? /maHvatlh P.S. «je» is classified as a conjunction in TKD (even when used after a verb to mean «too») so it's not a given (at least to me) that it is grammatical to use on its own. This is different from how TKD talks about the, syntactically similar, «neH» “only” (which can also come after both nouns and verbs) in that «neH» is explicitly called an adverbial. (I take this to mean that «neH» on its own it a perfectly fine sentence – though the number of contexts in which it would make sense might be limited.)

9 19

Klingon Word of the Day: tlhoy
by Klingon Word of the Day 27 Nov '22

27 Nov '22

Klingon Word of the Day for Sunday, November 27, 2022 Klingon word: tlhoy Part of speech: adv Definition: overly, to an excessive degree, excessively, too much Source: HQ:v8n3p2 This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

1 0

Klingon Word of the Day: mu'qaD
by Klingon Word of the Day 26 Nov '22

26 Nov '22

Klingon Word of the Day for Saturday, November 26, 2022 Klingon word: mu'qaD Part of speech: noun Definition: curse, insult, "word challenge" Source: KGT This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

1 0

new verb: tlheb
by Lieven L. Litaer 25 Nov '22

25 Nov '22

At the qepHom, Maltz explained some interesting new verb and its usage: The request asked: How does one differentiate between need to/must/have to and should/ought to in Klingon? There is a rather big difference between “I need to do something” (because otherwise something bad will happen) and “I should do something” (because it’s the honourable thing to do). For reference: It was printed in qepHom 2022 booklet, page 20. online in the wiki: http://klingon.wiki/En/Should -- begin quote -- For "should" or "ought," make use of tlheb "urge" as in: qagh vISop net tlheb "I should eat gagh." (It is urged that I eat gagh.) qagh DaSop 'e' vItlheb "You should eat gagh (in my opinion)." (I urge you to eat gagh.) qagh vISop 'e' vItlheb "I should eat gagh." (I know it's the right thing for me to do) (I urge me to eat gagh) Note that the object of tlheb is the thing (activity) being urged, not the person being urged. That is, you don't say something like qatlheb (presumably, "I urge you"). The construction is always S 'e'/net tlheb, where S is a sentence whose subject is the person being urged to do whatever the verb is referring to. For "need to" and so on, of course, use the suffix -nIS. LL: Can I say this with the following meaning? jISop 'e' Datlheb'a' "Should I eat?" (Do you think I should eat?) MO: Yes. LL: So I see a connection to the opinion of the second subject. net tlheb is a general statement, while 'e' tlheb X means that person X thinks that the subject of the sentence should do someting. Is that right? MO: Right. Almost always, the subject of tlheb is "I" or "you" (when it's not net tlheb), but a third-person subject is possible. -- end quote -- Later, during the qepHom 2022, Marc Okrand clarified: This is not used in the case of "I repaired the computer, it should work now". That's a different kind of "should". The usage of this expression implies the decision of the person who should do something. Therefore, it is also not used in a phrase like "it should rain". -- Lieven L. Litaer aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany" http://www.tlhInganHol.com http://klingon.wiki/En/AliceInWonderland

3 2