tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Apr 01 11:09:37 1999
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
{nuqneH} and Paramount
- From: Steven Boozer <[email protected]>
- Subject: {nuqneH} and Paramount
- Date: Thu, 01 Apr 1999 13:08:49 -0600
- In-Reply-To: <CBD6795F70A5D211B2B20008C733321A031DD6@INFINITI2>
Dave:
> {nuqneH} doesn't really seem to work as a greeting with email. "What do I
> want." isn't really what you're writing about. Perhaps "I want this" or
> "this is want I want" will be a more accurate yet still Klingon-sounding
> phrase.
pagh:
: When you want to begin a conversation, just start talking. In Klingon
: culture, which is reflected in the language, it is considered rude to waste
: a person's time with pleasantries.
:
: The best use of <nuqneH> is to respond to someone walking up to you or
: calling you on the telephone. In that context, it makes perfect sense to say
: "what do you want?". Once again, this is not considered rude, but a "polite"
: terran response would be.
To add to the confusion of beginners...
At the beginning of the recent DS9 episode "Once More Unto the Breach" we
see Worf in his quarters when the door bell chimes. Worf replies, "Enter!"
His old friend Kor walks in saying, "{nuqneH, wo'rIv!} - though actor John
Colicos pronounces it /nuck-ney Worf/. Some small talk about the Dominion
War follows before Kor comes to the point and asks Worf to do him a favor.
Note: the visitor said {nuqneH} first, not the one visited, as we and
Okrand use the word.
Well, at least the Paramount writers are looking at TKD, even if they don't
bother to learn the niceties of usage. This also shows that, as we've seen
before with Colicos in fact, whenever they do insert tlhIngan Hol words
into the script, the Paramount production staff don't bother teaching the
actor how to pronounce them properly. (I wonder if they even mention the
existance of the audiotapes and CD's in case some actor wants to take the
time to listen on his own.) Colicos' /nuck-ney/ is pretty clearly an
attempt to figure out {nuqneH} on his own. Since final /h/ after a vowel
is usually silent in English - e.g. Susannah, Savannah, Shiloh, hallejujah,
etc. - he did the best he could. At least it was good enough for that
episode's director.
I suppose that if John Colicos ever attends another Trek convention, no
doubt some Klingon fan will point this out to him. <g>
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons