Careful about adding an article to the English translation. Klingon doesn’t have articles. In English, there is a big difference between “bell of metal” and “bell of the metal”. The former sounds natural and fits the Klingon meaning far better. The latter places more significance on the metal than the bell.
Bell of metal.
The bell of metal.
Bell of the metal.
The bell of the metal.
The first means a metal bell. The second suggests a specific metal bell. The third suggest any bell, so long as it’s made of the specific metal that context has apparently explained. Stainless steel? Brass? Bronze?
The forth speaks of some specific bell made of the specific metal.
These shades of meaning would require a bit more verbal effort to differentiate, if you wanted to speak of something other than a generic metal bell, which, I guess differentiates it from a glass or other ceramic bell. Wood doesn’t ring all that effectively. Stone bells are challenging to manufacture. Mud bells aren’t very durable. Cloth bells are not very loud.
pItlh
charghwI’ ‘utlh
(ghaH, ghaH, -Daj)
On Jan 28, 2024, at 2:55 AM, Lieven L. Litaer via tlhIngan-Hol <tlhingan-hol@lists.kli.org> wrote:
Hello -
has it anywhere ever been explained, how words like {baS 'In} work
grammtically ? Is it a classic noun-noun-construction as in chapter 3.4
of TKD? If so, what would be a literal translation, I mean more literal
than "metal bell" - would you read it as "a bell made of metal"? It is a
genitive contruction? It can't be the "bell of the metal", can it?
--
Lieven L. Litaer
aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany"
http://www.tlhInganHol.com
http://klingon.wiki/En/AliceInWonderland
_______________________________________________
tlhIngan-Hol mailing list
tlhIngan-Hol@lists.kli.org
http://lists.kli.org/listinfo.cgi/tlhingan-hol-kli.org