Klingon Oaths to Empire

[Neleb]

Hello. I'm interested in know the Klingon Oaths. What say and if someone of you have them in klingon language.
Greetings.
Peace and long life.

[Qunchuy]

This should suffice:

tlhIngan maH! We are Klingons!

[Kesvirit]

Or you could put your budding cultural and language skills to work and come up with something original to contribute to Klindom. Other posters should be able to help you plow through translations.

I suspect that wishing a Klingon “Peace and long life” will earn you nothing more than a suspicious glare. Until you come up with something more specific to your intent, you would do better to use “Survive and succeed!” or simply {Qapla’!} (“Success!”)

Wishing you {Qapla'!}
-=- Kesvirit

[Kehlan]

Your post seems a little sarcastic Kesvirit.  Try to remember that Neleb is not English and its not her first language. 

I suspect she may be asking about the oath of Allegience or something similar:  Here is one I found on the Imperial guard website:

Oath of the Imperial Guard

In front of my Emperor I stand
forsaking life and line at his call.
Beneath the naked stars with
my loyalty, honor and duty.,
that I may die a glorious death
and pass onto the Black Fleet
to serve my Emperor and Empire
for all eternity.

I have absolutely no idea how it would translate into Klingon, I'll leave that to the experts.  and if I am misinterpreting the question and it was about cursing and swearing in klingon - there are other threads here with plenty of information on those subjects.

Qapla

Prosperidad y larga vida (live long and prosper)

Kehlan


[Edit -- added link to IKE website. -=- Kesvirit]

[Neleb]

Thanks Kehlan, you're very pleasant.
And for Kesvirit...
Qapla' batlhje! 

[Kesvirit]

Someone summon the Battle Surgeon. The Moderator needs to have her foot removed from her mouth.

No sarcasm toward Neleb was intended; if I did offend, I am truly sorry. My reference to “budding cultural and language skills” was not meant to belittle someone who is learing English, but was addressed to a Vulcan entering the unfamiliar and potentially dangerous realm of Klingon society. You could see how such a newcomer to the Empire would need to learn both cutltural and language skills, and quickly!

As to Oaths of Empire, I understood that to mean oaths used *in* the Empire, not oaths specifically given *to* the Empire. In any event, I was encouraging Neleb to come up with something more custom-tailored to the point she was trying to get across. {tlhIngan maH!}(“We are Klingons!”) doesn’t really mean anything as an oath.

quoth Neleb: Qapla' batlhje

(Per Forum Rules and Regulations, please make sure to include English translations with any thlIngan Hol you use on the boards.)

-=- Kesvirit

[El Payaso Malo]

I don't think a Klingon would need to take an oath, at least not in theory. To take an oath would imply that you would lie otherwise. Klingons aren't required to wear rank insignia because a Klingon can be trusted to be whatever rank she claims, and I would assume a similar notion would apply to an oath: Klingons can be trusted to perform their duty honorably without requiring a promise.

[Kehlan]

I don't completely agree, oaths are not unknown in the Klingon empire... we know for definite there is a blood oath because Jadzia Dax considered herself bound by the blood oath shared by Kang, Kor Koloth and Curzon.

Taking an oath does not mean that a Klingon would lie otherwise.  If a Klingon gives his word, then it can be trusted... ie if he says he will do something he will do it... an oath is simply a more formal version of this and sometimes the circumstances would warrant this extra formality, much as it did when the Albino killed the sons of Kor Kang and Koloth.

[El Payaso Malo]

I see your point, but I don't see the Blood Oath as an oath of allegiance per se, to me the word "oath" is used to make translation easier. The Blood Oath seems to be a pact of resolution for vengeance. It is not a promise to do something as the word oath would imply, since the Right of Vengeance is already a given within Klingon Society. Kargan made Riker swear an oath of allegiance, but Riker is not a Klingon, so his honesty is in question.

[tesseraktik]

The Pledge of Loyalty:

wej 'etlhmeyvaD jI'Ip, reH Degh'a'vamvaD jImatlhqu'taHbejqu'. wo''a' quv 'oStaHbogh vImatlhqu'bej je. SachtaHjaj wo''a'vam wavbe'lu'bejbogh. Hem tlhIngan Segh, 'ej maHemtaHbej.

To the three blades, I  pledge I will definitely always be very loyal to this great symbol. Also, I will certainly be very loyal to the great and honorable empire which it represents. May this great empire, which will certainly never be divided, continue to expand. The Klingons are a proud race, and we will certainly go on being proud.

[El Payaso Malo]

I recognize the last aphorism, but are the rest personal composition?

[tesseraktik]

I recognize the last aphorism, but are the rest personal composition?

Yup; my own, free translation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

[El Payaso Malo]

Ah, nice! I am surprised you didn't invoke Kahless!

[tesseraktik]

Ah, nice! I am surprised you didn't invoke Kahless!

I considered it, but couldn't think of a way to incorporate it that felt natural and didn't violate the rhythm too much.

It's also tempting to throw in something like "without gods" in the place of "under god"

By the way, is there any official word in tlhIngan Hol for the Klingon Empire's trifoil?

[qoSagh]

You could transliterate the klingonasse komerex stella, which is what I do (although I generally just use the original klingonasse.

[El Payaso Malo]

It's also tempting to throw in something like "without gods" in the place of "under god"

That sounds equally good.

By the way, is there any official word in tlhIngan Hol for the Klingon Empire's trifoil?

I don't think so, but I would rendeer it wo' Degh or something like that.

[tesseraktik]

You could transliterate the klingonasse komerex stella, which is what I do (although I generally just use the original klingonasse.

Ah, good to know; thanks!

By the way, is there any official word in tlhIngan Hol for the Klingon Empire's trifoil?

I don't think so, but I would rendeer it wo' Degh or something like that.

Aye, I considered that, but it seemed a bit too unpoetic...  ...although, admittedly, it's almost exactly as poetic as "the flag of the United States of America", so I guess it wouldn't be completely wrong for this interpretation

[qoSagh]

Poetry is not the real goal, while a more poetic name for the U.S. flag is Old Glory, there is no real need for the legal name to be poetic.

From what I was told, the name komerex stella translates into Star of the Empire. Although it is the only place I even remember the word stella being used in klingonasse so it may be something more special or unique than just a star.

[qurgh_]

The Klingon Anthem, taHjaj wo', is sort of an oath: 

taHjaj wo' 'ej taHjaj voDleHma' - May the Empire continue and may our Emporer continue
wItoy'mo' vaj nuquvmoHjaj ta' - The Emperor honours us because we serve him
Dun wo'maj 'ej Qochchugh vay' - Our Empire is wonderful and if someone disagrees
vaj DaSmeymaj bIngDaq chaH DIbeQmoHchu' jay'! - we will crush them beneath our $*%!ing boots!

You can watch us singing it at the opening day of this year's qep'a' here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnvAGY1t9es. It has both English and Klingon subtitles.

[El Payaso Malo]

The Klingon Anthem, taHjaj wo', is sort of an oath: 

It doesn't seem at all oath-llike to me, but what it is is awesome. I don't remember who wrote it, but everytime I hear it, I am filled with pride. It is perfectly fierce. 

[tesseraktik]

Poetry is not the real goal, while a more poetic name for the U.S. flag is Old Glory, there is no real need for the legal name to be poetic.

It was the goal for me

From what I was told, the name komerex stella translates into Star of the Empire. Although it is the only place I even remember the word stella being used in klingonasse so it may be something more special or unique than just a star.

Ah, thanks for the tip!

The part about stela meaning "star" sounds a bit like a misunderstanding based on its similarity to "stella"...  ...but then again, with v'kari z'mortamas meaning "the many strings of death", it doesn't seem impossible that the people behind Klingonaase took some inspiration from real-world languages.


By the way, wo' Degh is actually used on one of the SkyBox cards to refer to the trefoil:  http://mughom.wikia.com/wiki/SP1

tlhIngan wo' Degh 'oH Deghvam'e'. - "This marking represents the Klingon Empire" (lit. "this symbol'e' is the Klingon Empire symbol")

I don't remember who wrote it, but everytime I hear it, I am filled with pride. It is perfectly fierce. 

That would be Captain Krankor.  I think it was written in 1992 or 1993.