[85178] in tlhIngan-Hol
RE: A stupid translation request
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven Boozer)
Thu Dec 4 12:34:23 2008
From: Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu>
To: "'tlhingan-hol@kli.org'" <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2008 11:33:09 -0600
In-Reply-To: <49380cb3.25578c0a.1991.ffff8592@mx.google.com>
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
naHQun:
>I got a request to translate "Stupidity is stupidity and there is no pill
>to help". I'll note that while I was pondering it, I mis-remembered it as
>"... no pill for it." [...] After some thought, I came up with this:
>
> valHa'ghachvaD tu'lu'be' qa'meH vIttlhegh.
>
>I don't like using -ghach (big surprise), but using it (on either verb)
>would tend to mark it in a way to show that their "stupidity" is of a
>special kind and not able to be 'fixed'.
>
>This was before I remembered QIp.
Don't forget {Dogh} "be foolish, be silly". If you don't like {-ghach} nouns, try using {-wI'}: {QIpwI'}, {DoghwI'}.
But sometimes {-ghach} works best. {QIptaHghach} is perfect for the abstract noun "(ongoing) stupidity":
QIptaHghach vor(laH)be' Hergh.
Medicine doesn't (can't) cure stupidity.
QIptaHghach vor(laH) pagh Hergh.
No medicine (can) cures stupidity.
A somewhat more Klingon approach might be to use {qoH} "fool" instead. Klingons have several sayings about fools, all negative. The most relevant WRT your translation request are:
qoH vuvbe' SuS
The wind does not respect a fool. TKW
Hegh neH chav qoH
A fool's only achievement is death. TKW
qanchoHpa' qoH, Hegh qoH
Fools die young. TKW
--
Voragh
Canon Master of the Klingons
