Not sure why it doesn’t get petaQ, but otherwise seeing the usual dialect problems that come with these kinds of translators.
Yeah, the machine translators I’ve tried are absolutely terrible – I can’t find one that can round-trip some text without turning it into absolute gibberish.
I’m only like halfway through unit 1 in Duolingo, but I did the translation myself and I think I did a better job (note: Klingon sentences are structured object-verb-subject):
nuq = what
jI- = indicates a command
jalIh = to say, to speak
-Qo’ = again
thlIngan Hol = the Klingon language
petaQ = well-known generic expletive (I didn’t try to find something that literally translated to “mother fucker”)
Da- = can, able
-‘a’ = indicates a question
nuq jIjalIh = say “what” again!
thlIngan Hol petaQ DajalIh’a’ = Klingon, motherfucker, do you speak it?!
What does petaQ literally translate to? I always assumed it was like “fucker” or something.
From wikibooks
petaQ, excl.: Epithet; similar to “bastard” or “asshole.” Throw that petaQ out.
It’s like a derogatory dismissal. Basically a claim someone is unable to uphold honor. An dishonored invalid.
