Archive of Okrandian Canon
| Author | Marc Okrand |
|---|---|
| Date | December 2002 |
| Publisher | Klingon Language Institute, Flourtown, PA, ISSN 1061-2327 |
| Source | HolQeD 11:4, pages 10–11 |
| Summary | Maltz delivers a challenge to the Klingon speaking community through Marc Okrand. |
| Title | Frasier’s Klingon |
| Type | article |
On November 5, 2002, NBC broadcast an episode of <Frasier> titled "Star Mitzvah." In this episode, Dr. Frasier Crane wants to give a speech in Hebrew at his son's bar mitzvah. His colleague Noel agrees to translate the speech into Hebrew in return for Frasier going to a Star Trek convention and getting an autograph of Scott Bakula. Frasier fails (not entirely his fault). Noel is upset, and, to get even, translates Frasier's speech not into Hebrew, bit into Klingon. Not knowing this, Frasier delivers the speech, and one of Frasier's son's friends (named Berman, perhaps an in-joke) not only recognizes the language as Klingon, but is able to easily translate it into English.
Various members of the KLI watched the episode and came up with a transcription of what Frasier was saying (form various posting on the mail list):
{puqloDwI' le'qu' -- Hoch jaj choquvmoH.
lenglIj lutebjaj
lengwIjvaD bel rap Sov
Danobpu'bogh.}
A not terribly elegant but literal translation of this is:
My very special son -- every day you honor me.
May the same pleasure,
the knowledge that you
have given to my journey
fill your journey.
Berman's rendition is:
My dearest son -- each day you redeem me.
May your journey be filled
with the same joy, wisdom,
and purpose you have given mine.
Clearly Berman is a brilliant translator. Not only is his version far more eloquent that the literal translation, it includes an extra notion, "purpose," that's not in the Klingon at all.
Maltz was very impressed. How did Berman come up with "purpose"? Maltz said he is willing to give a reward to the person who figures this out.
Some background: In the real world of television show production, as opposed to the fictional world of Frasier Crane, I was asked to provide a Klingon translation of Frasier's speech, and, for better or worse, I did so. Not surprisingly, given the expertise of the KLI membership, the version in the mailing list matches exactly what I wrote (with one exception---see below)^1^.
I submitted the same thing in three different transcriptions: (1) "official" (e.g., {lenglIj} <your journey>); (2) official with hyphens, which makes it easier to read for someone new to the transcription system ({leng-lIj}); and (3) a version which, if read as if it were English, would come close, as long as one followed a pronunciation key that explained such things as "kh" is {H}, how to pronounce "gh" ({gh}), and so on ({leng-lidge}).
The producers apparently used this third version for their printed script, and the closed captioners apparently used the printed script for their captions (again, as reported on the KLI mailing list):
Pookh lod wih le koo
Hach jahj cho-koov-moakh
Leng-lidge lou-teb
Jahj leng widge-vahd-bel rahp
shoave dah-nobe-poo-boagh
Frasier's pronunciation makes the most sense when compared with this English-like transcription.^1^
The main difference between what aired and what I submitted, however, has nothing to do with transcription, but rather the absence of "purpose." Somehow, somewhere in the process, four words got dropped. Had the four words remained, Berman's translation would have matched what Frasier said, and Maltz would not have been so awed by Berman's skill.
So now back to Maltz's challenge: he wants someone to give the speech "purpose," that is, to come up with four words, even if they're not the same ones originally submitted, so that Berman's translation actually works. The words should come after {Sov} and before {Danobpu'bogh}.
Maltz has offered his usual reward: a vocabulary word of the winner's choice. He is not offering an autograph of Scott Bakula.
-----^1^ The closed captions, though close, do not entirely match what was submitted. For example, "pook-load-WIH leh-KOO" became "Pookh lod wih le koo" (for {puqloDwI' le'qu'} <my very special son>) and "khoach jahj" became "Hach jahj" (for {Hoch jaj} <every day>). Whether these changes were made in the closed captions alone or also in the script I don't know.