tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Oct 04 11:01:38 1998
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: KLBG
qI'ta', qulvIghro' wrote:
> chobochmoH. You flatter me.
> I extrapolated from <bochmoHwI'> flatterer.
pagh answered:
>Daj. This would seem to be logical, but extrapolating from a slang term is
>always uncertain, even if just a little bit. I'll look into this one a bit
>more on Monday at work (where I keep my reference materials).
ghunchu'wI' replied:
>I'm usually wary of extrapolation because of insufficient information.
>In this case, however, I'm pretty sure that the information we do have
>about {bochmoHwI'} tells us that what you're trying to do doesn't work.
>KGT page 145 says {bochmoHwI'} comes from {'etlh bochmoHwI'}, meaning
>that the object of the shining isn't a person but a blade. It's a very
>close parallel to the term "apple polisher" in English.
The object of <bochmoH> can also be a nose. Remember what the wary Klingon
merchant told the Terran in Power Klingon:
ghIchwIj DabochmoHchugh ghIjlIj qanob.
If you shine my nose, I will give you your nose.
Okrand says this is a common idiom meaning: Don't try to fool/mislead me if
you value your life. I'm not sure which idiom (if any) your average Klingon
will think <chobochmoH> refers to. Will he believe you're accusing him of
flattery or deception? Both are negative traits to Klingons, as the
discussion of <bochmoHwI'> on KGT p. 145-147 explains:
{bochmoHwI'} ("sycophant, flatterer, one who tries to curry favor by
flattering a superior")
Literally "shiner, one who shines (something)," this word is all that
remains of an earlier expression, {'etlh bochmoHwI'} ("blade shiner").
It was originally used to refer to someone who shined somebody else's
blade, as opposed to one's own, suggesting the idea of flattering a
superior rather than simply doing one's own work. A nonslang equivalent
might be {naDwI'} ("one who praises"), though this lacks the overtones
of "self-serving."
The illustration on the facing page provides another clue to Klingon
attitudes:
Garak ... a Cardassian operative in the mirror universe who is a
{bochmoHwI'}.
If you want to play it safe, best say <chonaD> "you praise me" to avoid
giving offense -- unless, of course, that's your intent.
--
Voragh "Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons lis est." Horace (Ars Poetica)