Need a name translated for a D7 battlecruiser

[Joseph_O]

Hi All,
First post here; hoping someone can help me with a translation.  I'm building a 1/1000 scale model of the D7 battlecruiser for a friend's Christmas present.  The model will be internally lit with LEDs and placed on a nice wooden display base.  I want to make a nameplate for the base that has the name I've given the ship in both Klingon and English forms.  I have narrowed the name down to two choices, and the one I pick will depend on how the Klingon translation looks & sounds.  The two names are "Terrible Hand" as in the hand being an instrument or tool, and "Horrible Visage" as in something with a frightening or demoralizing appearance.  I surely appreciate the assistance from anyone who's willing to help translate these two phrases!

Thanks & regards,
Joseph

[Jon]

Unfortunately, there are no known Klingon words for "terrible" or "horrible". In English these words have various meanings, I think the closest words we have are:
  ghIj (scare), such as "SaghIj" (I scare you)
  Haj  (dread), such as "SaHaj"  (I dread you)

We also have:
  ghop  (hand)
  qab   (face)
 
Giving possibilities such as:
   ghIjbogh qab     face which scares
   ghIjbogh ghop    hand which scares
   ghop Hajlu'bogh  hand which is dreaded
   qab Hajlu'bogh   face which is dreaded
The Klingon sounds more powerful, more frightening than the English.
   
There is also an intensifier (-qu'), which doesn't translate well into English:
   ghIjqu'bogh qab     face which scares a lot
   ghIjqu'bogh ghop    hand which scares a lot
   ghop Hajqu'lu'bogh  hand which is much/very dreaded
   qab Hajqu'lu'bogh   face which is much/very dreaded

Good luck with the model!

[Qunchuy]

You've chosen some pretty specific words here. Unfortunately, only "hand" translates with anything like directness.


The only example of the word "terrible" I can think of is from the appendix of The Klingon Dictionary. Among the "useful Klingon phrases presented are this pair:

bIpIvHa'law' You look terrible (literally, you seem unhealthy)
bImoHqu' You look terrible (literally, you are very ugly)

I'm pretty sure that neither of these fits what you want.


Perhaps you could invoke the Fek'lhr, the mythical demon who guards the entrance to the netherworld where dwell the spirits of the dishonored dead?

veqlargh ghop Hand of Fek'lhr


The English word "visage" carries a lot of meaning behind it that can't be captured in a single Klingon word, or even a simple phrase. The Klngon Degh emblem has a connotation of being the "scary face" of the Empire, according to one of the Fleer/Skybox Klingon language trading cards, so maybe it would be a reasonable substitute.

Degh naS vicious emblem
Degh wIH ruthless emblem


Basically, you're asking for something that isn't easily provided. Any good suggestions are likely to be somewhat far from the original (and any suggestions that try to stick close to the original are likely to be very poor).

[Joseph_O]

This is good stuff; I thank you both for your replies.  I think I can piece together an appropriately harsh Klingon name for the ship.  Here's an animated gif of the lighted model in progress:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m72/fireballmodels/Forums/D7/D7_lights.gif

I took a lot of creative license with the lighting but the color scheme will be directly copied from the filming miniature for TOS.  Thanks so much for your assistance and I will post another pic when the model is finished!

Joseph

[Joseph_O]

Here's the finished model:

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m72/fireballmodels/Forums/D7/PC172301cropped.jpg

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m72/fireballmodels/Forums/D7/D7Horseheadcomposite.jpg

I ended up not having enough space on the nameplate to put the Klingon translation and the ship's history.  The recipient of the model is going to write a short story about the ship, though.  Thanks again for the assistance and Happy New Year!