tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Oct 15 08:35:31 1998
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Re: "da laffin tlhIngan"
>
> [Voragh] wrote:
> > Who knew Klingons had such a sense of humor?
>
> Is there a word for humor? I only have TKD, so I don't know if there
> was anything after that.
>
> FCAPT Robert W. Ray
Sadly, no. Klingon is particularly lacking in abstract nouns. You have to
recast the idea using a verb. For "he has a sense of humor," you could say:
pIj mon/Hagh/qID.
He often smiles/laughs/jokes.
reH montaH/HaghtaH/qIDtaH.
He's always grinning/laughing/joking.
qIDchu' ghaH.
He jokes well, that one.
... and so on. But keep in mind that Klingons may view a sense of humor
differently than we do. Okrand wrote in TKW (p.167):
pIj monchugh vay' yIvoqQo'
Don't trust those who frequently smile.
To a Klingon, a smile signals not only contentment, satisfaction, and
good humor, but also complacency, the feeling that all is well.
And commenting on the verb {mon} "smile, grin, sneer" on the old MSN Expert
Forum:
This also means things like 'snarl' and 'smirk'. I wouldn't be
surprised to find a Klingon {mon} and growl at the same time, but
{mon} by itself doesn't describe the full growling experience.
Finally, {Hagh} "laugh":
Hagh qoHpu' neH HeghtaHvIS SuvwI'pu'.
Only fools laugh while warriors die. PK
cheqotlhchugh maHaghbe''a'
Tickle us, do we not laugh? TKW
_____________________________________________________________________
Voragh
"Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons lis est."
Horace (Ars Poetica)