[Tlhingan-hol] Story: ghuv = The Recruit - 11

[Robyn Stewart]

Here you see a few sentences of a short story in Klingon, an explanation of
some of the vocab and affixed and how the sentences are composed, and a
translation of the sentences into English. It's supposed to be a learning
exercise. For me, for you, for anyone that happens along. torgh has just
questioned why he, a newly graduated recruit, has been assigned a special
mission by maQ.
qunrupchoH maQ ghogh." bItoy'rupbe''a'?" jatlh.
nom jang torgh. pe'vIl jatlh, "jItoy'rupbej!"
jatlh maQ, "maj. Qu'vamvaD DawIvlu'. batlh yIta'. "
Explanation:
First sentence = qunrupchoH maQ ghogh.
qun = scold (v) or history (n) - but the verb suffix tells you it's a verb
-rup = V2 - be ready, be prepared to
-choH = V3 - change, start
ghogh = voice
maQ ghogh = maQ's voice. Any noun-noun combination <X Y> can be read "X's Y"
or "the Y of X". The order matters.
"maQ's voice changed to be ready to scold," i.e. "maQ's voice took on a
scolding tone."
bItoy'rupbe''a'?" jatlh.
bI- = verb suffix for a second person singular subject with no object
toy' = serve (a master) - in this case serve the Klingon army, which is
serving the empire or the emperor.
-rup - there it is again
-be' = negation - note that it follows -rup, so it negates -rup.
<bItoy'be'rup> would be "you are ready to not serve," kind of a weird thing
to say, but maybe if someone was retiring.
-'a' = the question-making suffix
jatlh = says - notice that it can go before or after the thing said.
So "Are you not ready to serve?" he said? 
nom jang torgh. 
Simple sentence: adverb, verb, subject.
nom = quickly
jang = answer
"Torg answers quickly."
pe'vIl jatlh, "jItoy'rupbej!"
pe'vIl = forcefully, by force
jI- = verb prefix - 1st person singular subject, no object
-bej = v6 - certainly, definitely
He says forcefully, "I am definitely ready to serve!"
Note that it's not *jang torgh, "jItoy'rupbej." In Klingon, jang is not a
word that can be used to quote speech. So I say that he answers, and then I
say what he says to answer in separate sentences.
jatlh maQ, "maj. Qu'vamvaD DawIvlu'. 
By now the first two words should make perfect sense without explanation.
"maQ says"
maj = a mild exclamation of praise (the strong verson is majQa')
-vam = N4 - this, or these
Da- = verb prefix for 2nd person singular subject with a third person
object. It's used differently here, however, because the verb has -lu' on
it. Since a verb with -lu' HAS no subject the prefix reverses and represents
a 2nd person singular object acted on by no subject.
wIv = choose, (or choice, but it has verb suffixes on it, so obviously not
here)
maQ says, "Good. You have been chosen for this mission."
Other valid translations would include "One chooses you for this mission,"
and "You were picked for this mission."
batlh yIta'. 
batlh = honour (n) or with honour (adv)
yI- = verb prefix - imperative command to one person to perform an action
with no object, or command to any number to perform an action on a 3rd
person singular object
ta' = accomplish 
So which part of speech is batlh here? Does it matter?  The sentence could
be either, "Accomplish honour," or "Accomplish it with honour." I wrote the
second, but that's really only another way of saying the first.
-	Qov






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