tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Apr 15 08:16:33 2004

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RE: New vocabulary and {law'/puS} variants (HQ 13.1)

Steven Boozer ([email protected]) [KLI Member] 

quljIb:
> >Now, I gather that {loS 'uj woch tlhIngan} more correct, qar'a'?

QeS lagh:
>You don't use either {tIq} or {woch}. Both appear to be intransitive verbs,
>and therefore don't take an object. It just means that, from the speaker's
>point of view, X is comparatively tall or long: {tlhegh tIq} "a long rope",
>{SuvwI' woch} "a tall warrior".  [....]

Exactly right.  {tIq} "be long, be lengthy, be extended (of an object)", 
{jen} "be high", {woch} "be tall (in stature)", {run} "be short (in 
stature)", {'ugh} "be heavy", etc. are all intransitive qualities used to 
describe something.

To measure something precisely, Klingon uses a different set of transitive 
measurement verbs:  {juch} "have a width of", {muq} "have a volume of", 
{ngI'} "have a weight of, weigh", {Saw'} "have a depth of", {'ab} and {'aD} 
"have a length of".

>To state someone's height, we use {'ab}, which is transitive:
>   {jav 'ujmey 'ab SuvwI'} "the warrior is six uj tall"

{'ab} was explained by Okrand in an October 1997 post to st.klingon:

   There are two words used for length: {'aD} and {'ab}. Both of
   these can be translated as "have a length of", but they are used
   somewhat differently. {'aD} is used in contrast with {juch} "have
   a width of" in measuring, say, a table top. {'ab}, on the other
   hand, is used for (potentially) longish, skinnyish things (for
   example, spears) and also for heights.

     jav 'ujmey 'ab SuvwI'
     the warrior has a length of six ujs

   This might sound a little more natural as "the warrior stands six
   ujs" or "the warrior is six ujs tall."  [...]

     vagh 'ujmey vI'ab
     I have a length of five ujs
     I'm five ujs tall

     wej 'uj 'ab naQjej
     the spear has a length of three uj
     (the spear measures three uj; the spear is three uj long)

Other examples of {'ab} from canon are:

   wej 'ujmey 'ab 'oy'naQ
   Painstiks are a little over one meter long (S32)

   loSmaH jav vI' Soch loS 'uj 'ab meH
   Bridge Height: 16.28 M. (KBoP)

   HIvtaHvIS toQDuj cha'vatlh wejmaH Soch vI' vagh chorgh 'uj 'ab 'oH
   Attack Formation Height: 82.75 M. (KBoP)

   qughtaHvIS toQDuj HutmaH vI' jav wa' 'uj 'ab 'oH
   Cruise Formation Height: 31.56 M. (KBoP)

   SaqtaHvIS toQDuj wa'vatlh loS vI' jav chorgh 'uj 'ab 'oH
   Landing Formation Height: 36.46 M. (KBoP)

Getting back to the new verb {woch}, the examples Okrand gave were:

   tlhIngan woch law' tera'ngan woch rap
   the Klingon is as tall as the Terran

   tlhIngan woch law' tera'ngan woch nIb
   the Klingon is as tall as the Terran

(BTW, Okrand says that "{nIb} implies precision (the Klingon and the Terran 
are exactly as tall as each other) and is not likely to be used unless the 
quality being discussed is quantifiable or measurable.")

But to state their actual height in numbers, you would say:

   jav 'uj lu'ab tlhIngan tera'ngan je
   the Klingon and the Terran are six ujs tall

Or to make up another example with {run} "be short (in stature)":

   tera'ngan run law' verengan run nIb
   the Terran is as short as the Ferengi

   loS 'uj lu'ab neH
   they are only four ujs tall



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons

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