The Klingon Hamlet

Great literature always is best read in its original language. No matter how good a translation is, it will never be able to perfectly capture the nuances of the original. I realized this when I read the Aeneid in Latin during high school, and that's why I'm now going to have to bone up on my Klingon so that I can read Hamlet in its original language. "taH pagh taHbe." Doesn't that sound better than 'To be or not to be?'

Literature/Language

Posted on Wed Oct 06, 2004


Comments

HI!!

I dont know if you considere this a hoax or not.. but i do own the book!

It came from an idea from the star trek movie VI
The undiscover coutry.

While having supper with a bunch of Klingon, one of the Enterprise crew quote Hamlet, G̩neral Chang (a klingon, the one with the eye patch) Finished the quote, Someone ask him you know Hamlet and he reply You dont know Khamlet until you read it in the original Klingon version.

As for the book itself, On the even page the version is in Klingon, odd page its in english.
Its was written by people from the klingon language institute a few year ago..
Posted by Jonathan  on  Thu Oct 07, 2004  at  11:13 PM
I think this Klingon thing is getting out of hand.Loony-bins are looking for shrinks who speak Klingon, because they have patients who refuse to speak anything else!
Posted by Paul  on  Sat Oct 09, 2004  at  04:30 AM
This is by far the dummest thing ive ever heard, I could understand if it were kids playing around after watching star trek, but this is grown ass men and women trying to talk in a language that doesnt exist
Posted by josh  on  Sun Oct 10, 2004  at  06:33 PM
Josh, I'm afraid you're wrong. Klingons don't exist, Klingon (language) does, since someone invented and completed it. That guy dit a hell of a lot of work for it, so he deserves that aficionados use it; otherways it'd been far less worth while. Language, natural or artificial, is an important culture-bearer, and to work with many of them (for most Klingonist indeed studied many languages before) is simply fun.
Posted by DutchFreak  on  Fri Feb 11, 2005  at  10:36 AM
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