[Tlhingan-hol] Story: ghuv = The Recruit - 51

[Steven Boozer]

This is a good time to review Okrand’s use of negation in complex sentences.  (Some are easier to parse than others.)


noH QapmeH wo' Qaw'lu'chugh yay chavbe'lu' 'ej wo' choqmeH may' DoHlu'chugh lujbe'lu'
Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory, and ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat. TKW

ngongmeH wa' DujDaq nuHmey nISbe'bogh So'wI' jomlu'pu'
[A cloaking device which didn't disrupt weaponry was installed in one experimental ship. (untranslated on card)] S33

loS... qIb HeHDaq, 'u' SepmeyDaq Sovbe'lu'bogh lenglu'meH He ghoSlu'bogh retlhDaq 'oHtaH
It waits... on the edge of the galaxy, beside a passage to unknown regions of the universe. S99


jIHtaHbogh naDev vISovbe'
I'm lost. TKD

Hov ghajbe'bogh ram rur pegh ghajbe'bogh jaj
A day without secrets is like a night without stars. PK

quv Hutlh HoHbogh tlhIngan 'ach qabDaj 'angbe'bogh
A Klingon who kills without showing his face has no honor. TKW

Dajatlhbogh vIyajlaHbe'
I find no match for what you just said. KCD

tajwIj 'oHbe' chorlIj jeqbogh Dochvetlh'e'
That is not my dagger protruding from your midsection. FTG


yIntaHvIS qeylIS'e' lIjlaHbe'bogh vay' batlh 'etlhvam chenmoHlu'pu'
this sword of honor descends from the time of Kahless the Unforgettable. S8

DuHIv jagh Dangu'laHbe'bogh, vaj bIwunchoH 'ej bIpujchoH
Attack by unknown enemy leaves you vulnerable and weak. MKE

nuH'e' qengbogh mangghomvam luDel 'e' ra' molor, lujang maS'e' loQ So'be'bogh QIb lurur
Molor asks them what weapons this army carries, they reply, shaped as the crescent moon. PB

vaSvamDaq tuq veng je quvvaD Heghqangbogh SuvwI’ tu’be’lu’’a’
Is there nobody in this hall prepared to die for the honor of your tribe and city? PB




From: Robyn Stewart [mailto:robyn at flyingstart.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 9:37 AM

The one that trips me up is when complex verbs are reflexive. QeS does it all the time: rIQ'eghmoHlaHbe'mo' or the like. As non native speakers it's hard to know what's just our understanding and what's poor Klingon. It's possible, in universe, that the proverb itself would be hard to parse were it not so familiar. I agree that negation is sometimes harder to parse.

In this case:
  luSopbe'meH yIHmey boghbejpu' torgh

is worse, I think.

On 2013-10-23, at 0:31, "De'vID" <de.vid.jonpin at gmail.com<mailto:de.vid.jonpin at gmail.com>> wrote:

Qov:
> luSopmeH yIH boghbe'bejpu' torgh. = "Torg was definitely not born for
> tribbles to eat him."

I have trouble parsing {-meH} with negation.

I initially read that as:
"Torg was (definitely not born) for tribbles to eat him."

It wasn't until I read the translation that I understood you meant:
"Torg was definitely not (born for tribbles to eat him)."

I have the same trouble with {Hoch DaSopbe'chugh bath bIHeghbe'} so I apparently have trouble understanding {-be'} when it negates complex sentences.

--
De'vID
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