Customer Reviews

Gilgamesh:: A Klingon Translation

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is truly a work of love by Roger Cheesbro (or DloraH as he is known to Klingon Scholars) - love of this timeless epic as well as love for the Klingon Language (thlingan Hol)! This work, sponsored by the Klingon Language Institute, is a superb translation of the Epic Gilgamesh into what is essentially Modern Imperial Klingon (ta' Hol). It is a dual language book with the Klingon on the left-hand page and the English (sorry Federation Standard!) on the right. Cheesbro makes every effort to capture the poetical style and intensity of the original poem (which incidentally originates from Sumerian and Akkadian sources) under the constraints of an alien (!) tongue that has little resemblance in grammar or vocabulary to the originals. Be forewarned, to get the most out of this you will need The Klingon Dictionary as well as Klingon For The Galactic Traveler by Marc Okrand to make sense of the Klingon. If you are beginning to study Klingon, however, this is an excellent source of Klingon writing to read as the sentences are fairly small and the action is lively and the vocabulary fairly straightforward.

One may occasionally read disparaging remarks about the usefulness of learning a fictitious language like KLingon usually ending with the admonition of "Get a life!".What people who say such things fail to understand is that learning something like Klingon is a hobby! We do it for fun! Yes there are real nerds out there who like learning REALLY foreign languages just for fun! After all what "use" is most other hobbies like stamp-collecting, or model train building, or watching college football for that matter? But in the long run tackling a REALLY foreign (alien?_ language like Klingon does have a practical value.There is ample evidence in the psychological and biological literature to demonstrate that learning a language quite different from your mother tongue helps maintain, support, develop, and reinforce cognitive abilities at every age. It helps keep one sharp (quite a boon to old geezers like me!. As such this becomes more than just a hobby!

Make no mistake about it, Klingon is not easy! My wife says "This is HARD!" My response is "Well, yeah!" (Apologies to Spike from BTVS). But hard work will pay off in the end.

I can think of no better way to really get into Klingon (as written) than this book after you have some familiarity with the language.

When I first heard Captain Picard relating the story of Gilgamesh to Captain Dathon, my interest was piqued. Most of the story seems like it could be about ancient Klingons, and the portrayals of Enkidu and the other characters is vivid and detailed; the plot is stirring and engaging.

Now if we could only convince the Klingon Language Institute to tackle Beowulf and King Arthur...

I am a Klingon novice, and it is amazing to see how this constructed language has gone from the Star Trek series to translations of classic literary works. In addition to this, several other classics (as HAMLET and the TAO) have been translated into Klingon. It has Klingon on one page and English on the other. These books are good for Star Trek fans and for persons interested in constructed languages. What is also interesting is the Klingon mythos and how works as Gilgamesh become a part of that mythos.

Bought as a gift. Recipient, big Trek fan, loves it. He knows Klingon and the choice of Gilgamesh (that Picard chose as an epic story to tell Tamarian captain) is perfect. Book delivered quickly during the Christmas rush, too!