tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Feb 05 10:15:56 1998

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Re: KLBC Poetry (the child is happy)



mu'tlhegh {vutpa'Daq be'Hom 'IHqu' tu'lu'} qeltaH ghot puS.

One vocabulary note: in English (at least in the US), we often use the
word "girl" to describe women well into adulthood, and it is even used
occaionally to describe women of middle age and beyond, usually with no
negative connotation. The word "boy" is not often used to describe men
over the age of 18, and this usage may imply that the man in question is
not a "real man". 

Based on the apparent derivation of {be'Hom} as {be'} plus the
diminutive {-Hom} (and similarly for {loDHom}), I don't believe Klingons
would refer to an adult as {be'Hom} or {loDHom} without meaning to
insult her or him.

I don't know the age of the woman/girl Edy was referring to in the
original message, but if she was older than about 18, I would prefer
{be'} to {be'Hom}.

pagh


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