The Klingon Hamlet Part 2: To "Be" or not to "Be" - Summer of Shakespeare

How does an alien culture parse a phrase like "To Be or Not To be?"
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[@DarkMProductions]

Oh, Kyle, you missed a perfect quote from Star Trek in your closing speech. In Star Trek VI, near the end, Kirk says, "You know something, everyone is human." To which, Spock replies, "I find that remark... insulting."

[@carriesunshine]

😁😄

[@Redem10]

Klingon's Titus Andronicus is actually less violent and batshit crazy than the Earth one

[@Red0543]

+Redem10 I wonder how klingons would feel about killing someone and baking them into a pie?

[@Redem10]

+Accursed91 Good question, looking into it the Klingon have reference eating their heart of their ennemy, but it's hard to say if they actually do it or its just boasting. I think KlingonTitus Andronicus would have eaten the pie himself infront of Tamora and later boast about doing it

[@Red0543]

Redem10 That's both badass and extremely disturbing... I like it! :)

[@Stefan1of3]

Yeah, so I guess, baking him into pie would be seen as a discourtesy. A warrior's heart is supposed to be eaten raw. Apparently that heart was so vile, it had to be processed.

[@observerfx212]

I would pay real money to see a Klingon version of Titus.

[@joeyjojo6148]

For anyone curious, Iggy's Klingon subtitles are: bullSHIt ghIbberISH tHIS meanS notHIngh yeaH wHatever too many people [H]ave maDe joqeS about thI[S] Ighghy atlhalea IS a very eaSy targhet

[@KyleKallgrenBHH]

Well done! Glad someone finally noticed.

[@benkees8409]

1:03 Avunculicide - The act of killing an uncle. I had to look it up, and it's an obscure enough word that my spell checker doesn't recognize it.

[@mortisCZ]

I agree. I have known about patricide, regicide and fratricide so it makes sense that latin would allow for such a word but it was new experience nevertheless.

[@Tuckerscreator]

Just remembered something from my childhood that might shed light on the "To be or not to be" translation. My parents frequently bought media in Spanish, and I have a tape of Quack Pack with an episode where Donald Duck is briefly hypnotized into thinking he's Hamlet. In Spanish, he says: "¿Seré or no seré?" (Will I be or will I not be?)

[@Mcmos9000]

Your Chinese pronunciation was actually pretty good! You put some real effort into the tones.

[@slashandbones13]

it is amazing how this guy can take the most out there and alienating, no pun intended, things and explain it in a way that is understandable yet insightful

[@ttthecat]

He's awesome!! I love his insights and analysis too! I always learn something new!

[@5evilpackmen]

I like the books interpretation of Hamlet, it makes me wonder how other fictional alien races would look at the play. Timelord Hamlet would certainly be interesting; I'd imagine them seeing it as a story about Claudio foolishly bringing the barbarity of the outsiders into the "peace and order" of the city and the resulting collapse of societal order it brings as people become corrupted by their bloodthirsty instincts.

[@zaphero5518]

Also, Hamlet's father wouldn't be a ghost. He would be a regeneration. A dishonored shadow of his former self.

[@timothymclean]

Standard honorable warrior race guys might see it as a character arc for Hamlet. He starts out by being too weak to avenge his father, watches that reluctance destroy everything around him, and redeems himself by killing Claudius before his well-deserved death. It's a parable about why honor killings are important; a few people might die before -one family runs out of duelists- justice is achieved, but if you don't, a bunch of innocents will die instead.

[@maugos]

Damn dude, you should be some sort of internet teacher. You're amazing at explaining things that would normally go over a layman's head, like my own.

[@crimsondynamo615]

maugos he captures my attention better than John Green

[@FlashMan]

That Iggy Azalea got me, I'll admit I did not see that coming. Bravo to you for another great video.

[@SgtHydra]

"Klingon Hamlet wouldn't be so conflicted about avenging his father" But you forget. Many interpret Hamlet to be insane. That insanity might be transferred, despite the cultural divide.

[@AndreAndre-cx4xh]

The Japanese version that briefly appears on the screen translates to "To live or to die" btw, rather similar to the Chinese, if anyone was wondering.

[@jessielefey]

Fictional cultures are simpler. I think of things like Klingon Shakespeare as training wheels for cultural and linguistic translation. A logic problem with lesser consequences for failure; a safe place to practice and learn. As weĺl as the mirror argument you came to. We do need to remember to use these skills out in the real world, but the kinds of people who are that into linguistics never stop at two languages.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"To continue or not to continue" actually does work perfectly in the context of the movie though, because that's exactly what the Klingons were facing. Do they continue in their warlike ways to extinction and thus not continue at all, or do they not continue their war-like ways and continue on as something not Klingon. It's a really good paradox that works for the movie.

[@TalysAlankil]

Why do you say "There is no Klingon Rights lobby" in the same voice as "There is no war in Ba Sing Se"?

[@mlovecraftr]

+

[@RThyrring]

From Hamlet's native country: At være eller ikke at være

[@Seargent363]

+Rasmus Thyrring What is the direct translation of that?

[@RThyrring]

***** To be or not to be

[@Seargent363]

Rasmus Thyrring So Danish has only one word for to be?

[@RThyrring]

***** Well no, you can also translate "to be" in the same sense as "to become", but in the context of this line, yes "to be or not to be" has always been translated as "at være eller ikke at være" (the word "være" is pronounced like "where", just with the sound of a V instead of a W)

[@Seargent363]

Rasmus Thyrring Fascinating.

[@WikiSorcerer]

Now all I can think of is what a Klingon Zuko would be like. Every word he would ever speak would just be "honor", like some nervous tic

[@iantaakalla8180]

Klingon Zuko is basically the play version of Zuko, who takes his honor far too seriously and eschews silliness.

[@taraedwards2395]

There are Shakespeare plays in Yiddish. One that jumps to mind is King Lear.

[@padairua8129]

As a Gaeilgeoir (Irish Gaelic) speaker i can confirm we have Macbeth (or Mac a' Bheatha) translated 🙂

[@OtherGonzo]

I've always thought Julius Caesar would be great as a Klingon play. A conspiracy to take out a leader succeeds but leads to a great battle between the conspirators and those loyal to the previous leader and ends with almost everyone dying an honourable death.

[@GNeves302]

I once ended up stumbling over a short comment about fantasy/science fiction trope regarding people (or species depending on the setting) that are the stock warlike, blood thirsty, violent characters of the stories. In short it brought attention to their representation, which is more often than not as dark skinned, often pictured using these created languages designed to sound guttural to western viewers. I had never paid attention to that, but this trope is more common than we'd like to think.

[@Painocus]

+G. Neves: Probably because most of them are based on the medieval Mongolians or the pre-Islam Turks.

[@ttthecat]

G. Neves very true, but hopefully that's changing now...

[@timothymclean]

@@Painocus Prejudice fueling coding fueling prejudice. And so the cycle continues, until we stop reusing the same problematic tropes. ...Or we could wait a few centuries for the dark-skinned martial race out to destroy the civilized world start incorporating elements of Al Queda and Palestinians.

[@Painocus]

@@timothymclean: Well, that turned racist and incoherent quickly.

[@femoman]

​@Painocus Indeed. As much of a progressive as Tolkien was for his time (anti Apartheid, pacifist, anti Nazi, openly supportive of Jews etc) , even he admitted he based his concept of Orcs on the Mongols, and it is theorised that what little canonical language and grammar we have of Black Speech is based on Hungarian. Which is why it's good that a lot of more modern depictions make orcs a bit less of a default evil: Warhammer makes them Cockney and more chaotic than evil, and even several DnD modules rewrite orcs as more badass warrior-culture types than brutal monsters.

[@fabrisse7469]

French is structured in such a way that it is nearly impossible to translate anything from English without it becoming approximately 1/3 longer. Edgar Allen Poe's translation of Hamlet is considered a masterpiece at least partially because it is not only good French poetry, it is also the exact same number of lines as the original (or the currently accepted first folio plus a couple of quarto variations we generally use).

[@AguzSuiCaedere]

Watching your videos is one of the best investment of my time.

[@drawwithtina7951]

That was a valiant effort on the mandarin pronounciation : )

[@Ivdar]

Now imagine a Klingon Prince Zuko. All the honour.

[@jackrubyultima]

Well, since Kyle has indulged the trekkies with Klingon Hamlet, I REALLY hope he decides to do William Shakespeare's Star Wars.

[@Conankun66YT]

This might be my new favorite review from Kyle, because i enjoy it so much when he talks about culture and linguistics. That combined with nerd culture and good jokes and voila an excellent review. Awesome work, Kyle!

[@NoInfoAvail]

Its really cool you go so out of your way to learn these little bits of languages for this. I'm impressed. Great video!

[@nantu07]

The beatifullly phrased reason why peaple warch Star Trek is actually an agreed defining quality of good sci-fy and fantasy, because that is the root and main rason for creation of those works of fiction.

[@rhymebeat1142]

A bit more context on the Spanish stuff. See while "ser" reflects the existential meaning of "to be" it is estar which reflects what Hamlet is literally talking about. Whether he should live or not. In spanish "I'm alive" is "Estoy vivo", while "She is dead" is "Ella esta muerta".

[@FranciscoJxL]

+Kaitlyn McCaffrey Yet the state of being, that is every aspect you represent, your own escense, translates better to "ser". "Estar o no estar" could take the meaning of being in a place, rather than being alive or not. Also, looking at it in a more grammatical point of view, there's what's called a verbal and a nominal predicate, the latter uses nominal verbs, which are to be and to seem/appear (ser, estar and parecer), which take the function of a copulative verb (called a copula), making the attribute, in this case alive/dead, the nucleus of the sentence. So the verb stops being that much important, or at least not as important as the attribute.

[@Elsenoromniano]

+FranciscoJxL Though the sentence "ser o no ser" it's not actually a nominal predicate, it's a verbal one, there are some exceptions where the verbs "ser, estar y parecer" are part of verbal predicates. These are when parecer is impersonal like "parece que va a llover" (it seems it's about to rain), when estar means not state but position in time or space like in "estoy in mi casa" (i'm in my house) and for ser, it's when it refers not to have a quality, but to exist like in "Dios es " (God is, in the sense of God exists", "to be or not to be" it's usually interpreted as the later in Spanish.

[@FranciscoJxL]

+Elsenoromniano That is what I believe, haha. I was just adressing why "estar o no estar" sounds odd and is kind of less fitting.

[@BR1NSOP]

+Fabián Vargas I'm not a Spanish speaker curious to know is there the possibility to use "ser o no estar"? Probably, because I thought it, it probably makes zero sense XD but Can the different properties of each fit an existential reading of the text? i.e. "to be (for the moment- with the implication that everything ends) or not to be (from now and for ever- to voluntarily accept that state of non-being)"

[@ttthecat]

That's a really interesting insight!--that each alien culture represents an aspect of humanity, and is a way to explain humanity to humans. Gives me even MORE respect to the writers of Star Trek, DS9, Voyager and all of the trek universe. But what do the Andorians represent of humanity? Caution? Suspicion? Paranoia? Wait that sounds like Romulans, if anyone can tell me I'd genuinely appreciate it!!

[@writerspen010]

"Native speakers of Klingon" is not a phrase I ever thought I'd hear.. This is a really interesting discussion! I'm not the biggest Trekkie out there nor reader of "Wil'yam Sheq'spir" (GREATEST. THING. EVER. I was ready to thumb up Part 1 of this discussion for that pronunciation alone lol), but I love your critical, cultural literary discussions ^_^ it's always fascinating to hear how other cultures (even fictional ones) have interpreted what is more or less blindly praised in our own, so I am loving these videos.

[@Jillbles]

I enjoyed this immensely, thank you. I was about to point out, "What a piece of work is man," but then you beat me to it right at the end. Oh, I love that scene.

[@TerryFedora]

This was a very good video Kyle. I absolutely loved it. Thank you for the thought, time, effort, and message.

[@scottbroussard494]

THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING ENDANGERED LANGUAGES. This is my #1 argument against conlangs. They can be fun, but if those passions and creativity were turned to reconstruction and protection of minimalized and endangered languages, we probably wouldn't have as big of a gap in those populations.

[@opoudjis]

I was one of the two people who translated Hamlet into Klingon. I also have a PhD in linguistics from Australia, where most linguists work on endangered languages. I chose to work on Mediaeval Greek instead. The moral imperative argument you present would invalidate what I did for my actual PhD as much as it does the three months at the start of my PhD, when I translated Khamlet. And I disagree with your contention. There is no shortage of underemployed linguists to help preserve languages, and I know several people doing that work. It's not for lack of linguists that languages are dying. In fact, if you have to reconstruct a language, it's already too late for it to live truly.

[@jomas45]

I am moved by 5:21 as being a beautiful piece of timing and editing with the focus coming on Picard at *just* the right moment. My hat is off, sir.

[@smallbackyard]

This was wonderful Kyle.

[@Salisbury2015]

Came across this by accident, but quite enjoyed it and the prior video. Gave me a new appreciation of both Klingons and Shakespeare. Looking forward to exploring more of this channel.

[@marthawayne6966]

I love your channel!!

[@CastlesComments]

Once again, an amazing video. Hope you're always here to entertain and educate us Kyle. I'm sure you've probably considered it already but would you ever make a podcast with Ven or something? I'd love a casual show with you guys shooting the shit on whatever.

[@jordangreen9201]

I would love that too!:-)

[@Ken19700]

One guy raised his son to be a native speaker but the kid got bored with it when he realized his dad could speak english.

[@dexdex1560]

Ken MacMillan but it does show that the language that is understood by the group will be used. For my SO, he is from Poland and his parents, older sister and relatives. They are all fluent in polish other than his brother in law.when I overhear conversations, they speak polish. When they are aware that I am present, they use English. It could be out of politeness but it does also help that they don't need to translate what thei just said. When I speak words to my SO in the very Canadian accented pigeonhole polish I know he will always reply in English. I have asked him about that and he can't explain why he does it. His sister does that as well. They both have commented that they are not as fluent as they were as children and teens because they both work in industries where Canadian English triumphs. I have seen the series that this boy appears in and he does the same thing my SO does just with polish to English instead of Klingon. All you can really bring it down to is bilingual humans are intriguing to know how their minds work.

[@Tuckerscreator]

Yeah, the kid got annoyed because he could only use Klingon among his immediate family. He stopped after he turned 5.

[@Ken19700]

Tuckerscreator not even his whole family, just his dad.

[@jakarnilson]

Not only that, but he wound up adding a number of new words to the Klingon lexicon, words, IIRC, for things as simple a kitchen table.

[@ttthecat]

Wow! That's real! Why didn't he teach his intelligent and obviously bilingual capable son something useful that would help them to get into college or get a good job?

[@nathanhook8351]

Thanks for doing this. Great analysis.

[@Alex_DC413]

Don't forget some of the other versions of Hamlet: Canadian Hamlet - Strange Brew Disney Hamlet - The Lion King SNL Hamlet - Tommy Boy.

[@LizaLeech]

+Alex Decourville oh god I would LOVE to see Kyle take on Strange Brew

[@kuraikenshi2349]

I love the Trek and believe there is never enough of Klingons. That being said, I never thought about this at all. Awesome guy.

[@howardmiller5381]

Kerplop! That was an excellent analysis.

[@Demolitiondude]

Thank you Kyle.

[@ChiKettle]

Wonderful video! Keep it up.

[@MarquisSmith]

On edit: See you caught the error in the title! Been looking forward to this one Kyle.

[@TheCommonGentry]

Some translations of Spanish "To be or Not to Be" is actually "Vivir o no vivir" (to live or not to live), which undercuts any additional meaning behind "be"...

[@KalirPatten]

Apparently the original concept behind lacking a verb "to be" was that Klingons think of themselves as creatures of action and have no concept of simply existing passively. Which I suppose makes as much sense as anything else.

[@DeeCross]

So the approach given - "to continue or not to continue" - really is best. If Klingons can't conceive of themselves as passive beings, then wouldn't life naturally be considered as movement into the future rather than sheer existence?

[@nupinoop296]

Kyle, you can't make me cry about Star Trek at work!!

[@rmeddy]

This was pretty awesome, that part about it being comparable to Kafka was awesome

[@pgpete]

"Sokath, his eyes uncovered!"

[@MaxMercuryAnonymous]

Props to Kyle on the little touches. I saw that purple blood on Klingon Falstaff!

[@Cabbolf]

This was interesting and I enjoyed it.

[@gmenezesdea]

This is great!

[@DanielBlack82]

Awesome video almost missed it because Nash was spamming his entire backlog

[@brunilda12]

Being a spanish speaking person, I've always found the problem of traslation fascinanting. For a new reading, check out the Jorge Luis Borges essay about the versions of Arabian Nights ("Los traductores de las mil y una noche"). Love your videos Kyle! Looking foward for this year Shakespeare month

[@afterdinnercreations936]

You explaining how Mandarin Chinese getting lost-in-translation brings up ALL of those boot-legged DVD blurbs.

[@kenkoopa7903]

7:12 - Wowsers, this became much more meaningful to me in the past year, goddamn.

[@observerfx212]

Excellent! Insightful, accurate, thought-provoking, and funny! Shakespeare's own performances were not the somber events we observe today - they played far more like Klingon dramas to rambunctious audiences at the time. These plays contained all the things we still go to the cinema for today - including action, sex and discovery. You can see how Klingon audiences might actually be more comfortable for the Bard himself to play for! You have also got a great handle on Star Trek and how what makes it successful was never the whiz bang stuff. Star Trek was a morality play and I would love to see it get back to those roots. How many effing superhero fantasies do you need?? But one characteristic Star Trek possessed - and continues to possess in reruns - is HOPE.

[@shadowreaperjb]

talking about endangered languages, would have been nice if you had mentioned scots gaelic. seriously there's less the 100000 speakers, and was actively forbidden from being taught or even spoken in scottish classrooms for a long time. not that I expect Kyle to actually see this.

[@timothymclean]

There are a hell of a lot of dying languages. Mentioning two forms of Gaelic would be overkill.

[@pinoypizza]

Damn Kyle, this two parter was amazing, and the ending speech even moreso. SF Debris would be proud. And as one who speaks Mandarin, I can say that your pronunciation....wasn't THAT bad. I've heard worse.

[@Barl3000]

"Sokath, his eyes opened"

[@benderB9]

Welll this was a weird topic, however this were two very intersting series. It's definitly fascinating what sometimes spawns from these made up languages and cultures. Loved this years shakespear month. maybe even moreso than last years. The overall subject of different culture's interpretation of the text was really interesting and made your videos more than just your typical film analysis.

[@Jaytheradical]

Thought we were segueing into Shakespeare in the Bush there. Still, great video.

[@Noon3rs]

+Jaytheradical He did mention Shakespeare in the Bush before, during his Yeelan review. That hasn't been re-uploaded to KZbin yet, but I hope it's coming soon!

[@michaelkemel9711]

Shakespeare in the Bush should probably be a required read for anyone translating a story.

[@lamecasuelas2]

First things first! let me congratulate you sir for your effort and your dedication, just to entertain us, your public. Second, i think that the klingon hamlet may also reflect (intentionally or not) as you say the unconscious urgency for humanity to get together, and yes it is a good point, the first barrier we might have to break first in order to become a true kind of civilization is language, that is the first step for us to become real masters of the planet. anyway, i wonder if Esperanto got covered the to be or not to be thing

[@juneguts]

At 5:11 there is an annotation that reads: "Whoops! This is David Garrick as Richard III, not Hamlet." On January 15th, 2019, KZbin will remove all annotations and thus you can't read this clarification.

[@darrellee8194]

That was awesome.

[@bigbadseed7665]

So the Klingon version of Hamlet portrays a world where honorable, action-based Klingon culture is browbeaten by an oppressively dull and pedantic new culture. Is this supposed to represent what the Klingon Empire would be like if it was taken over by the Federation?

[@harriffanconshertini8804]

Ĉu esti, aŭ ne esti?

[@rashionalism]

As a quick note (I'm Spanish, so I might be able to offer something), in Spain, when we say "está loco" we mean it as being crazy in general, not necessarily as something temporary. For that, we have "parecer" which would be more like "to seem" (more or less). And the soliloquy is generally interpreted as it is in English, since "ser" has the same philosophical weight than "to be" does in English. Then again, my mom's Canadian, so I might not be able to offer a good interpretation on it, seeing how I read it in English (and then watched the Lawrence Olivier version cause why the Hell not). As far as "Don Quixote" goes, I think it was Gabriel García Márquez who said it was better in English than Spanish (don't quote me on that, I might be thinking of Cela, but I can't find anything, sorry) and, also, as a Spaniard myself, I don't quite get "Don Quixote," given its historical context and all, so you're probably better off than me :D In any case, thanks for what you do, man. What you do is enlightening and I used your video on "Throne of Blood" as a reference for an essay on Kurosawa :D

[@Phantomsbreath]

To Continue, or NOT to continue!

[@pocketheart1450]

6:30 Let people have fun.

[@SpudMackenzie]

Wooo Company reference!

[@samanthabree1246]

You're missing the point of Klingon Shakespeare (never thought Id say that). Its not about native speech or a literal translation. For the original translator, it was the fun of the challenge and to see if they could do it. For the actors, its about the challenge of being able to speak and act in a language so different and foreign. And for the audience, its about the fun of seeing this craziness and the humor of the joke amplified in full view.

[@ZekeAxel]

Well, I can say that the Russian version of "to be or not to be" works pretty well. Быть или не быть Also how you explained it, I also see this Kilngon Hamlet as an interesting thought experiment. They took Hamlet and make it fit a specific culture. It's not like an interpretation found by scholar in analysis. It's an interpretation crafted with an express purpose.

[@opoudjis]

(Translator of Khamlet here.) In fact, it was my excuse to satirise the Shakespearean criticism I'd read in high school. But yeah, it was indeed a fun thought experiment.

[@Marinealver]

Maq'Beth was a great play!

[@Jojoscotia]

"To view ourselves through the eyes of the other" or, as the other bard put it.. "Tae see oursels as ithers see us". Read burns.

[@TransmetSpider]

I am Klingon-kin HOW DARE YOU?!? [sarcasm: if I actually identified as such... Well, you'd be dead by now.]

[@Rocketboy1313]

When you started talking about the "Why Klingon? Why not a real language?" I have actually had that thought a LOT whenever I see a new language in media. How much time would "Game of Thrones" saved by having the Dothroki speak Mongolian? Which is one of the cultures their place in the world was modeled after. Or in "Skyrim", you need a monosyllabic language which uses tone to express meaning? Mandarin fits that role just fine. These sorts of things are not just easier on the creators (and can be used to hire linguists who work with a living language) but can serve to introduce languages to an audience who would have never given them a chance, a glimmer of familiarity.

[@Jaytheradical]

+Joshua Pelfrey It's been a while, but I remember hearing this is how alien languages work in Star Wars.

[@Imanoth]

+Joshua Pelfrey I think it may be that by granting these alien species a real world living language, you're actually extrapolating this characters' traits to the real people whom speak the actual language and that might be regarded as *offensive* (in actual culture) and backslash the work. So creators play it "safe" and create a language from scratch. Or maybe the creator is a linguistic freak and just love to do that, even subtly implying a real world race in every new language. because he doesn't give a damn who may be offended. (ehem). Whatever. But actually a real world dead language it's a great idea and would have been awesome.

[@Jragonmiris]

+Joshua Pelfrey Remember that language, to some degree, is culture and a group of people. If you use an existing language to some degree you inherit the conceits and cultural baggage of that language, which can be limiting. Especially if the writers don't entirely understand the source culture (even with a language consultant). This is even true with English -- to some degree every fantasy culture we write using our language inherits our cultural baggage as well! Even very simple things like having the same word for loving your spouse and loving your mother/brother/child can subtly introduce themes into a work that wouldn't exist in languages that use different terms. However, by making art in your native language, you get some leeway as a "benefit of the doubt" when it comes to weaving new cultural artifacts into it. And of course with a new language, you get infinite freedom in defining its culture. More importantly, by using an existing language, no matter how much you deny it, it can look like you're saying something about the origin of that language. I mean, look, we already know that the Dothraki are an off-brand Mongol. I know that and I don't even watch/read GoT, but you can make significant deviations from Mongolia. You can make them more brutal, or more honorable, or whatever else without making it looking like (or at least having plausible deniability that you're not) you're saying anything about real (historical) Mongols. There's also the standard arguments about "cultural appropriation". Using elements of a real foreign culture to evoke feelings or themes without having any real deep understanding of what that culture means to the people who live in it. However, that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish with a body of work and many standard arguments and counter-arguments I don't feel prepared to hash out here.

[@xexious2]

+Joshua Pelfrey I would say it's because it adds a level of believability to the world. How would a fantasy world speak mongolian, they are in a different universe. Now imediatly you are probably thinking, what about english. Well... the way I see it. Imagine watching a movie that has alot of dialogue in two languages, say spanish and english. You understand the english, but you don't understand the spanish. To me, you are supposed to identify with the characters of westoros and that it's their story. In context of the story, the dothraki are the foreigners that we don't understand. Thus you can say that the people of westeros speak their own language. But in the show and the books it's english because it's supposed to be a language that we all understand. The people of westeros are not supposed to be foreign, you are supposed to think of them as something akin to our own cutlure. They all speak a language that we the viewer can understand, so english. Think of it like say... making a movie about rome and you are the roman so you would hear latin and imediatly understand it as you would english, if the main characters are romans then just cut the middle man and have them speak english (assuming you are making a movie for an english speaking audience) making a new language for the main characters you are following then introduces a level of foreigness that the story isn't trying to get across That's my idea anyway. With that said I would love to see a movie about rome with actual latin in it.

[@GNeves302]

As Imanoth said in his comment, having the characters that are represented as violence loving brutes speak an actual language would be rather dangerous, wouldn't it? One can already make an argument about how shows made a with mostly western audiences in mind associates other cultures to the standard "exotic group of people whose culture is just so outlandishly violent than the main characters", and continue that argument relating it to stuff like our society's historical prejudices and the "white men's burden". Outright using a real language would be just declaring our own prejudices.

[@Garhunt05]

Klingon Richard 3 would probably be the most popular

[@MakiPcr]

Klingon Falstaff would be awesome! He hates honor, but he's still alive; there must be a reason

[@ECL28E]

Your translation of Mandarin just reminds me of bootleg DVDs

[@FlowinEnno]

Just when I thought he couldn't get more intellectually badass...

[@user-ub4nz8ti3j]

A culture that exists in our hearts. Given time and hopefully space travel and genetic technology. Humons will see the honor and wrath of the Klingon Empire. Koplha!

[@MarkArandjus]

Is it just me or is the editing a lot better? More animated and on screen. Seems a lot like an Idea Channel episode.

[@MichaelSHartman]

Christopher Plummer's to continue, or not to continue seems to capture more of the spirit than exist. To continue, or not to continue implies should I continue with my appointed task. The scene of contemplative angst seems out of place when the general's death is certain. I found the Klingon's preferred point of view, or theme of a honorable person surrounded by a corrupt society interesting, along with your comparison to other works. My views of Hamlet have been many. Is Hamlet a indecisive idealistic wimp with an Oedipus complex facing "real world" politics, or the aforementioned? I have felt a bit tongue in cheek that Derek Jacobi was cast as Claudius, and the character juxtaposition.

[@olefredrikskjegstad5972]

Next up: Elcor Hamlet

[@Sol-Invictus]

We should totally evolve Klingons on another planet.

[@ScarletRedCrimson]

The funny thing is that Danish, which i suppose Hamlet would be speaking, has issues with "to be" as well. In Danish "to be and not to be?" is translated to "At være eller ikke at være?" which means exactly the same except "være" doesn't quite have the same weight, være does mean be but more like where you are/place (closer to exist). So in Danish Hamlet is technically saying "to exist or not to exist" or even "to be present or not to be present" . It still works as a translation but the English "be" has a stronger connection to the word being (as in ones being), Danish does not. A being in Danish would be væsen, which is closer to the word creature in meaning than være/being. Isn't language fun?

[@joie393]

I know you only do movies on here, but I'd really like to know what you think of the web comic Homestuck if you have the time to read it. It would probably take a long time but there's a lot to analyze I think and I'd love to hear what you think about it.

[@GooberFace32]

Hamlet translated into Tamarian would be awesome!

[@FTSims]

"Hamlet kills uncle. Uncle was evil."

[@MarkCalise]

I always thought a Klingon translation of "The Scottish Play" would be much better than Klingon Hamlet.

[@MoonSpiritChannel]

As a Chinese man, I forgive your butcherization of Mandarin because I don't that language very well, given the fact that I live in Texas, and you mostly have to speak English or Spanish.

[@altromonte15]

I think there is something interesting about a fictional person of a fictional culture saying "to be or not to be": klingons aren't. they don't be. Someone smarter than me could make an interesting play out of that.

[@darkservantofheaven]

I thought the aliens being humanoid was because the budget in the 1960s didnt allow for any creative alien races that not humanoid (like star wars)....but your explanation is much nicer.

[@laurenceperkins7468]

His explanation is why they *stayed* humanoid, even once effects got cheaper and budgets increased.

[@christinawisdom1128]

Many natural languages dont have a word for to be

[@cakemagic]

One thing that I think is worth mentioning when translating into different languages is the turn of phrase. Like, is it worth conveying more or a more accurate meaning if the language sounds clunky? Shakespeare very carefully chose his words to sound musical and poetic. Is the choice of the two different Spanish versions of "to be or not to be" more about meaning, or about flow? It's probably best to ask a Spanish native speaker which sounds clunkier. Sure, there is loss of meaning, but that is why everyone should learn foreign languages - in order to broaden their own understandings of the human condition.

[@guy31978]

I can't say anything more then what's already been said. Let me just say 'I love this!' and let that stand ^_^