[Tlhingan-hol] Fwd: leSpalwIj (corrected!)

[Steven Boozer]

Dillon, Kyle wrote:
> >> Also, I can tell that the last sentence is a comparative:
> >>   {DaH pangghachwIj qat law' ben yachghachwIj qat puS.}
> >> I don't have any experience yet translating comparatives. Something
> >> about your plucking now being better than your strumming years ago? 

David Joslyn wrote:
> >> majQa!  That is precisely what I mean.

> > In a comparative construction {A Q law' B Q puS}, Q has to be a
> > "quality", so {qat} doesn't really work here.

quljIb:
> I was going for the idea that by "plucking" {pang} the music "encases"
> {qat} the song better than "strumming" {yuch}.  (Which is does, given
> that's how the original was composed {qon}.)  Guess I got ahead of myself;
> should have gone with the simpler {QaQ} to indicate plucking is better
> than simply strumming. 

Try adding an introductory phrase before the {A Q law' B Q puS} formula.  Some examples by Okrand (set off with <angle brackets>):

  <jonlu'meH> wo'maj pop tIn law' Hoch tIn puS 
  Our Empire's highest bounty has been placed on his head. (ST5 notes)

  <tlhutlhmeH> HIq ngeb qaq law' bIQ qaq puS 
  Drinking fake ale is better than drinking water. TKW

  <reH latlh qabDaq> qul tuj law' Hoch tuj puS 
  The fire is always hotter on someone else's face. PK

  <qIbDaq SuvwI''e'> SoH Dun law' Hoch Dun puS 
  You would be the greatest warrior in the galaxy. ST5 

  <noH ghoblu'DI'> yay quv law' Hoch quv puS 
  In war there is nothing more honorable than victory. TKW

  <tlhIngan wo' yuQmey chovlu'chugh> Qo'noS potlh law' Hoch potlh puS 
  The principal planet of the Klingon Empire, Qo'noS... S27

Another way is to use a different verb in a longer noun phrase (the A and B of the formula):

  <QamvIS Hegh> qaq law' <torvIS yIn> qaq puS 
  Better to die on our feet than live on our knees. ST6 & TKW 
   ("Dying while standing is preferable to living while kneeling").

N.B. Don't be distracted by the odd use of {-vIS}.  Personally, I think it's an earlier or {no' Hol} form preserved in the proverb or saying, implying it may well be quite old.  Okrand himself explained it as:

TKW 95:  The grammatical construction is a bit aberrant; one would expect {QamtaHvIS} and {tortaHvIS}. In proverbs, grammatical shortcuts are not uncommon.



--
Voragh
tlhIngan ghantoH pIn'a'
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons