June 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

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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

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qa'naDa' vISuch
by De'vID 03 Sep '22

03 Sep '22

qaStaHvIS tera' jar Soch, qa'naDa' vISuchlI'. Toronto, Mississauga, Waterloo/Kitchener, Niagara Falls je vISuch 'e' vInab. maghom neH'a' vay'? (Or maybe I can write: vIghomlu' neHlu''a'?) -- De'vID

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paq'batlh 2ed
by De'vID 04 Aug '22

04 Aug '22

Hi, For those of you who've been asking, the paq'batlh 2nd edition is almost ready to go to publication. I'm hoping that it will be out in June. I just sent a very-close-to-final-draft to the editors, but there's like one or two things that Dr. Okrand and I are still discussing. He's promised to get back to me within a few days, and then it should be ready to be published. (I hope I don't jinx it by posting about it.) -- De'vID

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joining multible {-bogh} phrases by {je}
by D qunen'oS 18 Jul '22

18 Jul '22

There's the Ca'Non: Qu' buSHa'chugh SuvwI', batlhHa' vangchugh, qoj matlhHa'chugh, pagh ghaH SuvwI''e' If a warrior ignores duty, acts dishonorably, or is disloyal, he is nothing Now suppose I write: HoSbogh Suvqangbogh 'ej matlhbogh vay' someone who is strong willing to fight and loyal Quchbogh Do'bogh vay' 'ej quvmoHlu'bogh. someone who is happy, fortunate and honored According to the Ca'Non sentence, I think that the above are correct, since the Ca'Non sentence shows that only one {'ej} is necessary. But am I right? Are the above indeed correct? -- Dana'an https://sacredtextsinklingon.wordpress.com/ Ζεὺς ἦν, Ζεὺς ἐστίν, Ζεὺς ἔσσεται· ὦ μεγάλε Ζεῦ

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Re: [tlhIngan Hol] thoughts on the perfective {-pu'}
by luis.chaparro＠web.de 17 Jul '22

17 Jul '22

Dana'an: > Yes, you're right. And unfortunately, as much as I try to get things right, > in the end I get confused. I don't know much about Modern Greek, but I think you distinguish between imperfective and perfective in the past with παρατατικός (imperfective) and αόριστος (perfective). I'm sure that's not the same as in Klingon, but for me the difference between imperfective and perfective in Spanish has been a great help, and I just try to keep a note of the cases where it doesn't match the Klingon. Doesn't it work with Modern Greek?

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Klingon Word of the Day: tuj 'otlh
by Klingon Word of the Day 01 Jul '22

01 Jul '22

Klingon Word of the Day for Thursday, June 30, 2022 Klingon word: tuj 'otlh Part of speech: noun Definition: infrared, infrared radiation Source: qepHom 2018 This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

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tlho'taHghachwIj
by Will Martin 30 Jun '22

30 Jun '22

I would once again like to express my personal thanks to the person or people who loyally update the boQwI’ database. Mwahahahahahahaaaaa…. In so doing, I wreck your opportunity to whine for doing a thankless job. But perhaps I nudge the appreciation from others, while I’m at it, even if they keep it a secret. batlh latlh DaboQtaHjaj. pItlh charghwI’ ‘utlh (ghaH, ghaH, -Daj)

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pronoun with {-taH} pronouns with {-taH} vs {tu'lu'}
by D qunen'oS 30 Jun '22

30 Jun '22

Qo'noSDaq Duj law' tu'lu' Qo'noSDaq bIHtaH Duj law''e' Don't both sentences mean the same? The way I understand them, they both mean "at kronos there are many ships". So, when should someone use {tu'lu'} and when should he use the pronoun with {-taH} variation? -- Dana'an https://sacredtextsinklingon.wordpress.com/ Ζεὺς ἦν, Ζεὺς ἐστίν, Ζεὺς ἔσσεται· ὦ μεγάλε Ζεῦ

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noun-noun constructions and interpreting a missing {-'e'} in N2 of N1 meaning
by D qunen'oS 29 Jun '22

29 Jun '22

If I want to say noun 2 of noun 1, I say N1 N2. Now suppose that N1 is the object of a {-bogh} phrase (which has a subject too), and suppose that I want to say N2 of N1. Normally, I'd write {N1'e' Vbogh subject N2}, but the problem is that we can't have the {-'e'} on the first noun of a noun-noun construction. So, now, the question is this: If I write {N1 Vbogh subject N2}, and the context is clear, can this phrase be used to mean "N2 of N1"? Or the fact that we can't place an {-'e'} on the N1, excludes any such interpretation? And I'll write an example: yoD chenmoHpu'bogh tlhIngan rItlh lIngqa'meH nov, nIDpu'. "the alien has tried to reproduce the paint of the shield which was created by the klingon" If the context is clear, would this be a valid way to express the english sentence? Or is it that the only way for the klingon sentence to match the english one, is for it (the klingon one) to have the {-'e'} on the {yoD} something which is not allowed? -- Dana'an https://sacredtextsinklingon.wordpress.com/ Ζεὺς ἦν, Ζεὺς ἐστίν, Ζεὺς ἔσσεται· ὦ μεγάλε Ζεῦ

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