tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Aug 03 09:56:58 1996

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The ST:V backfit line



qaSDI' 96-08-03 11:32:17 EDT, jatlh Kenneth Traft:

[jatlh vay':]
>  > vaj does mean warrior but I have never seen used as such, everyone uses 
>  > SuvwI'.

[jang Traft:]
>  While <SuvwI'> is generally used  and most of the Klingon canonical
examples 
>  use it there has been precedence used for <vaj> in a noun-noun construct:
>  vaj toDuj  =  warrior's mettle  (TKW)
>  I believe it was used elsewhere but I can't say for sure.  I don't think
we 
>  should discourage it's use.  I may be a little prejudiced because Glen
used 
>  in his Bible translation "vaj SeghvaD De' QaQ".

Why is that prejudice?

TKW p.104 has 
vaj toDuj Daj ngeHbej DI vI'
"Shooting space garbage is no test of a warrior's mettle."

This is the famous backfit in Star Trek V.  It's interesting, because a
minute later, Captain Klaa says

vaj toDDujDaj ngeHbej DIvI'
"That means the Federation will be sending a rescue ship of its own."

That's where {vaj}="warrior" comes from.  It's also where {toDuj},
{Daj}="test inconslusively", {ngeHbej}="cosmos", {DI}, and
{vI'}="sharpshooting, marksmanship" come from.

We should definitely use these words!  One of them, {DI}, was used quite
successfully at the qep'a' in Klingon Scrabble!  (And no one believed me when
I said it was a real word, until they looked it up!)

SuStel
Stardate 96590.5


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