tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Sep 03 10:02:49 1998

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RE: "Excuse me" and "bless you"



: >I know that these phrases would probably be anathema to Klingons, but how
: >would one say in tlhIngan Hol "excuse me" and "bless you" (when someone
: >sneezes, of course). For "excuse me", I might say {pIchwIj}, which I 
: >derived from the English slang "my bad". For "bless you", I have tried
: >{DaQanlu'jaj} "May you be protected.", but it seems stilted.
: <
: > ~ Thornton
: 
: These just aren't phrases that jive with the Klingon psyche.
: OTOH, when someone sneezes in my house, we say {Qu'vatlh}!  :)
: 
: --Holtej

Well, a Klingon might tell you:

     nachlIj yItlhe'      "Turn your head!" 
     (jIHDaq) yItlhISQo'  "Don't spit (on me)!"

Humans might reply:

     jIQoS    "I'm sorry"
     jItlhIj  "I apologize"

... though I really doubt a Klingon would expect an apology.  In fact, he'd
probably think less of you.  Klingon etiquette may just call for a brief,
acknowledging grunt in these circumstances.

Are Klingons even capable of sneezing?

-- 
Voragh                           "Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons     lis est."         Horace (Ars Poetica)



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