Discursive Dictionary
KEY: Click highlighted phrases for sound bite.

    * When the ships meet, Dathon says:

DATHON:  Rai and Jiri at Lungha.  Rai of Lowani.  Lowani
         under two moons.  Jiri of Ubaya.  Ubaya of
         crossed roads.  At Lungha.  Lungha, her sky
         gray.

      This is the story of two people from different worlds, Rai of the planet Lowani and Jiri of the planet Ubaya, meeting at a place called Lungha, which seems not to be on either of their homeworlds. Under the circumstances, it would make sense if this were a first-contact story.

    * When it's obvious that communication has failed, the first officer laughs and says:

FIRST OFFICER:  Kadir beneath Mo Moteh.

      This phrase is used later by Dathon, when he and Picard are on the planet, and communication has once again failed. (The included sound file is Dathon's, because his pronunciation is clearer.)

      Note that both times, the phrase is used after some failure of communication. It's impossible to reconstruct the full story without further information, but it seems that "Kadir" indicates failure or, perhaps, misunderstanding.

    * Dathon quiets the First Officer by saying:

DATHON:  The river Temarc in winter.

      This phrase is used three times. The second time is when Dathon and the First Officer are arguing; the third is in Picard's conversation with the Tamarian First Officer. All three times, it's used to cut someone off. I would guess that it means something like "be quiet," or perhaps, literally, "chill out." Perhaps the allusion is to the fact that rivers become silent when they freeze over.

      When "Darmok" first came out, someone on the Fidonet Trek echo suggested that the reference might be to the fact that frozen rivers can be crossed. This is an appealing idea-- Temarc might be a great, unfordable river separating two towns, which are able to communicate easily only in winter. (Remember the festival on the frozen Thames in Orlando?) This would fit in nicely with the episode's theme of communication. But after reviewing the tape and script several times, I don't think this interpretation is correct. Both Picard and Dathon speak this phrase in a tone of finality, and all three times times, the First Officer responds with silence. That's too great a coincidence for it to mean anything else.

    * Then Dathon says:

DATHON:  Shaka, when the walls fell.

      This phrase is used several more times. Picard himself tells us what it indicates: failure. I can only add that I've noticed a certain Biblical flavor to Tamarian mythology, so I wonder if the author wasn't thinking of the death of Samson.

      There is one more piece of information about what this might mean. Later, when Dathon discovers Picard reading his Captain's Log, and Picard tries to apologize, Dathon cuts him off by saying "Shaka!" This could just mean "failure is imminent," but perhaps the reference is more specific. Picard is attending to trifles as, unknown to him, the beast approaches; perhaps Shaka's failure was in a similar situation.

    * Dathon and his First Officer argue. The following new phrases are introduced:

DATHON:  Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

      The meaning of this phrase is explored fully in the episode, but for those who haven't seen it recently, a summary. The story is set on the planet Chantil III. Darmok of Kaza, a hunter, sails alone to the island continent Tanagra, where he meets Jalad of Ikiteo, of whom we know nothing. The two encounter, and apparently vanquish, a creature known only as "the beast of Tanagra." Having forged a friendship through their struggle, they leave Tanagra together.

      The thing to note about this translation is that it's impossible to sum up the meaning of the phrase in a single word; it's a quite complex comment on an entire situation. The other phrases that we can reliably translate can, in fact, be summarized in a word or two--"Shaka, when the walls fell" means "failure." But the example of "Darmok" hints that this simplicity is an illusion, born of our limited knowledge of the language. For a Tamarian, "Shaka" would connote not just "failure," but a specific failure, in specific circumstances which you and I can't know. Consider Counselor Troi's example, "Juliet on her balcony." Dr. Crusher glosses this as an image of romance--true enough; but of course the phrase connotes much more than that. We are aware that the love of Romeo and Juliet is star-crossed; that it will end in tragedy; that it is love at first sight; that it is the love of youth and not of maturity; that the scene alluded to is a clandestine second meeting between the two lovers; that in it, Romeo is looking up at the Juliet's tantalizing backlit silhouette, while she sees him unclearly against the darkness; and so on ad infinitum. Every Tamarian phrase should be presumed to be this rich, though the richness is hidden from us.

      The Star Trek: The Next Generation in-joke page observes that Darmok backwards is Komrad (Comrade) and suggests a connection between JLpicARD and JILARD [sic]. It then goes on to make the very peculiar statement that "Gilgamesh is based upon Gilgamesh (from Sumerian lore)." I suppose this means that Picard did not tell Dathon about the Gilgamesh of the epic, but another hero of the same name. Or is it just some new definition of 'based upon,' of which I was not previously aware?

1ST OFF:  Zima, at Anso!  Zima and Bakor!

      There isn't much to go on here. All we know is that this is the First Officer's argument against Dathon's plan. As such, it could either be an alternative suggestion--"don't do that Darmok thing, do this"--or a way of saying, "this course of action will end in failure."

1ST OFF:  ...Mirab, his sails unfurled!

      This phrase is used three times. The second time is when Picard and Dathon first face the beast. Dathon turns to him and says, questioningly, "Mirab, with sails unfurled?" Picard motions him to attack, but Dathon replies, "Shaka, when the walls fell"--"that won't work."

      The third time is in the final conversation between Picard and the Tamarian First Officer; the First Officer turns aside to his helmsman and says "Mirab, with sails unfurled." Shortly after, they leave.

      The translation "departure" is consistent with all three uses. Here, then, the First Officer is suggesting that they leave, rather than pursue Dathon's plan.

    * When Riker informs the First Officer that the abduction of Picard could be considered an act of war, he says:

1ST OFF:  (to his staff) Kiteo, his eyes closed.
          (to Riker) Chenza at court.  The court of silence.
          (flash of anger)  Chenza...

      The stage directions above are as shown in the script. In light of them, it seems that "Kiteo, his eyes closed," is the First Officer's command to his staff to break off the communication. Perhaps it means literally "I close my eyes to it"--something like Pilate's "I wash my hands of it."

      The Chenza allusion is suggestive but elusive--I can't construct a story to go with it. But it seems plain that the First Officer is refusing to listen to Riker.

    * When Dathon gives Picard a burning stick to start a fire with, he says:

DATHON:  Temba, his arms wide.

      Picard translates this himself--it's an image of giving, or perhaps of receiving.

      This seems a good time to point out, again, that brief translations strip the Tamarian language of a world of richness. Undoubtedly there is a whole set of connotations which are lost here; Temba's giving must have occurred in some specific circumstances which a Tamarian would know. If we were to construct a Tamarian-like language using Terran myths, think of the difference between allusions to Athena giving Perseus the aegis and Scrooge giving the Cratchits the Christmas goose.

    * When Picard and Dathon are about to fight the beast, Dathon says:

DATHON:  Uzani, his army at Lashmir.  Uzani, his army,
         with fists open.  His army with fists closed.

      After a false start, Picard realizes that this refers to a strategy in which an army lures the enemy in and then attacks. (The way the episode is filmed blurs this somewhat, but the script is clear.)

      Note that Dathon keeps saying "Uzani, his army," where we would say "Uzani's army." In fact, we would be more likely to say "the Greek army," or something of that sort. This may be a hint at Tamarian grammar: it seems to be required that each allusion be introduced by a sentence beginning with a proper name in the nominative case. Later, explanatory sentences seem exempt from this requirement.

    * When he realizes that Picard has understood him, Dathon says:

DATHON:  Sokath, his eyes uncovered!

      This is an image of understanding or realization. (Later, the First Officer uses it in a similar context, leaving little doubt as to the translation.) The image is somewhat reminiscent of the scales falling from Saul's eyes--another Biblical connection.

    * When the Enterprise's sensors detect the struggle with the beast, Riker opens a channel to the Tamarian ship:

RIKER:    Your captain is under attack.  Drop your shields!
1ST OFF:  Kailash!  When it rises.

      This is a tough one. Considering the context, it would make sense if the First Officer were saying that this is a necessary risk, or even a necessary loss. Off the top of my head, I would suggest that Kailash might be a river which, like the Nile, floods (rises) each year: a dangerous event, but necessary if crops are to grow.

    * After Dathon has been injured, while he's telling Picard the story of Darmok, the following new phrases are used:

DATHON:  (cries out in pain)
PICARD:  Are you all right?
DATHON:  (waves him off)  Kiazi's children, their faces wet.

      Dathon's tone would indicate that he's trying to say "it's nothing." Perhaps Kiazi's children cried to get attention--something like the boy who cried wolf.

DATHON:  (crying out in pain; as Picard approaches)  
         Zinda!  His face black, his eyes red!
         (when Picard backs off respectfully) Callimas, at Bahar.

      The "Zinda" allusion is used twice. The other time is when Riker has fired on the Tamarian ship, and the First Officer opens a channel to yell at him. Both times, it appears to be an expression of anger. (In the episode it looks more like an expression of pain, but the script makes it clear that it's anger.)

      There really isn't enough context to translate "Callimas, at Bahar." Mark this one "unknown."

DATHON:  (asking Picard for a story)  Kira at Bashi.
         Temba, his arms wide.

      Presumably Kira was a storyteller. Every Tamarian is a storyteller to some degree, so the reference must be more specific, but it's hard to say in what way. Considering the circumstances, perhaps Kira is one of those storytellers who cheat death through stories-- like Scheherazade, or like that woman in the Twilight Zone episode who starts telling her grandmother a story each night and finishes it the next morning, knowing that Grandma won't die in the night because she's too curious to find out what happens next. 
      
      
My additions:

Timpo with his cards marked (Good Luck)