[1571] in tlhIngan-Hol
Birthright Song, Dave`s take on it.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Sep 15 14:14:38 1993
Reply-To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@village.boston.ma.us>
From: (Mark E. Shoulson) shoulson@ctr.columbia.edu
To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@village.boston.ma.us>
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 93 12:54:13 -0400
In-Reply-To: "David E G Sturm, Sturm & Drang Inc."'s message of Tue, 14 Sep 199
3 15:26 CST <01H2XYZP0YWW007I9U@DUCVAX.AUBURN.EDU>
>From: "David E G Sturm, Sturm & Drang Inc." <DSTURM@DUCVAX.AUBURN.EDU>
>Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1993 15:26 CST
> mu' ghaH; toD 'u'
>It is the word; the universe saves.
Hmm! *Very* interesting poetic usage here, though I'm not sure how it
works in the freer translation. {ghaH} can mean "it", I suppose, but it's
a *sentient* "it" (like maybe an artificial intelligence or neuter,
sentient alien). It's not what we'd use "it" for in English (we'd likely
feel strange about calling even neuter sentient aliens "it"; the word in
English simply isn't used to apply to people. Try using "it" as a
gender-neutral pronoun, if you feel you need one, as in "Everyone should
bring its book", and you'll see it just feels wrong)--Klingon would say
{'oH} for that--and certainly not the indefinite "it" we use so much in
English, for which I don't think even 'oH works. Looks to me like a form
of personification at work here. Well, it's a poem, so that makes sense I
guess...
~mark
