tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 06 11:37:36 2003
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: be'Hom loDHom je
Russ Perry wrote:
>But then again, the others:
>
> > "Younger Klingons describe some of the vocabulary used by their elders as
> > {mu'mey Doy'} ("tired words")..." (KGT 35)
> >
> > "As he describes the thrill of his first hunt, Toq (Sterling Macer)
> reminds
> > his elders of what it is to be Klingon." (KGT 90)
> >
> > "Younger Klingons, while accepting their heritage and observing the
> ancient
> > rites, see some aspects of their elders' behavior and beliefs as, if not
> > obsolete, then just old-fashioned." (KGT 133)
>
>...don't seem as respectful as a whole (though of course it is Okrand using
>the word "elder(s)", not Maltz). But still, I could see *{qanwI'} being
>outright derogatory -- sort of implying that one is just succumbing to time
>instead of living to old age proudly. Seems vaguely Klingon, that.
In HolQeD 10.2, "Maltz" describes an idiomatic gesture: to point your
{qanwI'} "pinkie finger" at someone means that you believe they are {qan}
"old", i.e. that they are a {qanwI'}. Whether this is derogatory or not
probably depends on the context. Klingon have two contradictory proverbs
WRT old age:
SuvwI'pu' qan tu'lu'be'
There are no old warriors. TKW
(I.e. Klingon warriors are expected to die gloriously in battle, not retire
and die of old age sitting at home.)
qanchoHpa' qoH, Hegh qoH
Fools die young. TKW
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons