tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Feb 20 05:12:47 1995

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-neS



 uu> From: "Mark E. Shoulson" <ur-valhalla!cs.columbia.edu!shoulson>
 uu> Subject: petaQneS  ;-)

 >From: [email protected] (Steve Weaver)
 
 >petaQnes *charghwI'* (Should have been petaQneS, {HIvqa' veqlargh}. I typed
 >"S" but it came out "s". ;-) ) was trying to say "*charghwI'*, you're being
 >wierd (respectfully)". One should always be respectful of ones "elders"
 >(meant in the non-age related sense).

 uu> Ah, but "petaQneS" doesn't mean "your honor, you are weird."  It means
 uu> "All of your honors, be weird!"  It's a command to more than one
 uu> person.  To indicate that one person is doing something with no object
 uu> in second person, use "bI-".  Check that prefix-table! 

Let's take a step back...

I'd like to discuss {-neS}.  This seems to be the least used verb suffix, and
not because Klingons don't use it a lot, but because it is so badly
explained.

In TKD, Okrand says "it is used to express extreme ploiteness or deference." 
Okay, fine so far.  His examples are {qaleghneS} and {HIja'neS}, which he
translates as "I am honored to see you" and "Do me the honor of telling me."

Yet, on PK, he consistantly stranslates {-neS} as "your honor."

I personally dislike "your honor."  It does NOT fit in with the way other
suffixes translate at all.

I prefer the more context sensative translation of his TKD examples.  It also
seems to me that {-neS} used that way would only apply to verbs that take an
object (even though it doesn't explicitly state that in TKD).

Thoughts?  Comments?

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