Complaint....

[Kehlan]

I need some help with a  translation of a complaint.... Please feel free to adapt the text to make it more Klingon in its feel....

Something along the lines of... "My Universal Translator was confiscated and I have not been provided with a Klingon Interpreter. None of the signage is in Klingon and the staff only speaks Federation Standard. The food is inedible, being only barely alive and the beds are so soft as to be only suitable for a squalling girl-child. My cultural background has not been respected. I have yet to endure a single pain stick!"

thanks

Kehlan

[ter'eS]

How's this:

mughmeH janwIj nge'lu', 'ej tlhIngan Hol mughwI' vIHevbe'. tlhIngan Hol lulo' pagh permey, 'ej DIvI' Hol neH lujatlh toy'wI'pu'. tlhoS Qopmo' Soj vIHevpu'bogh, Sojvetlh vISoplaHbe'. tunqu' QongDaq, vaj pa' QonglaH jachtaHbogh be'Hom neH! tlhIngan quHwIj quvmoHlu'be'. wej wa' 'oy'naQ neH vISIQ!

"My translation device is taken away, and I have not received a Klingon translator. None of the labels use Klingon, and the servants speak only Federation Standard. Because the food I have received is almost dead, I cannot eat that food.  The bed is very soft, so that only a screaming girl can sleep there!  My Klingon heritage is not honored.  I have not yet endured even one painstick."

mugh 'to translate'
-meH 'in order to, for'
jan 'device'
-wIj 'my'
nge' 'to take away'
-lu' passsivizer; 'is X-ed'
'ej 'and'
tlhIngan 'Klingon'
Hol 'language'
-wI' 'one who does'
vI- verb prefix; 'I (subject) - it (object)'
Hev 'to receive'
-be' negative; 'not'
lu- verb prefix; 'they (sub) - it (obj)'
lo' 'to use'
pagh 'zero, no, none'
per 'label' (there isn't a word for 'sign')
-mey plural (things)
DIvI' 'Federation'
neH 'only, merely, just'
jatlh 'to speak'
toy'wI' 'servant' (from toy' 'to serve')
-pu' plural (persons)
tlhoS 'almost'
Qop 'worn out, dead'
-mo' 'because'
Soj 'food'
-pu' verb suffix: completed action
-bogh verb suffix 'that which is X'
-vetlh 'that'
Sop 'to eat'
-laH ability
tun 'to be soft'
-qu' verb suffix: 'very'
QongDaq 'bed' (from Qong 'to sleep' and Daq 'place')
vaj 'therefore'
pa' 'there'
jach 'to scream, cry out'
-taH verb suffix: on-going action
be'Hom 'girl' (from be' 'female' and -Hom diminutive suffix)
quH 'heritage'
quvmoH 'to honor'
wej 'not yet'
wa' 'one'
'oy'naQ 'painstick'
SIQ 'to endure'

edited for wordlist and 2 changes in the text

[Qunchuy]

majQa' -- Very good, ter'eS!

I have two suggested changes.

First, instead of tlhIngan Hol mughwI' Klingon translator in the first sentence, I'd parallel the earlier mughmeH jan translating device and say mughmeH nuv' translating person or mughmeH tlhIngan Hol jatlhwI' translating Klingon speaker. That removes the ambiguity with mughwI' translator possibly referring to either a device or a person.

Second, I'd translate "squalling girl-child" differently. Either SaQtaHbogh be'Hom girl who is crying or vIngtaHbogh be'Hom girl who is whining seems better to me.



I also have one pedantic complaint. The verb suffix -lu' is not a "passivizer". There is really no such thing as passive voice in Klingon grammar. While passive voice in English is often a good translation, what the suffix really does is denote an indefinite subject. So nge'lu' can be rendered it is taken away, but it is literally more like someone or something unspecified takes it away.