tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jan 17 08:06:57 2006
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Re: cha yIghuS
Quvar wrote:
>I have a canon example:
>
> cha yIghuS.
> Get the torpedoes ready to be fired [TKD]
>
>and a verb:
>
> ghuS v. be prepared, ready (to launch)
>
>when I see the verb, I'd think I need to say {cha yIghuSmoH}.
>Or is the first example maybe clipped klingon?? any comments?
You're right: Based just on the gloss in TKD you would expect *{cha
yIghuSmoH}, like other qualities which become transitive verbs with the
addition of {-moH}. For reference, here are the other uses in canon:
cha yIghuS
[Tactical], stand by on torpedoes! STMP
cha yIghuS. So'Ha'!
[Arm torpedoes! Uncloak! (untranslated)] ST3
cha yIghuS
Stand by on torpedoes! CK
yISo'Ha'rup, yIghuS!
Stand by to de-cloak for firing. ST5
Okrand discusses this verb in KGT:
There is, it should be noted, a verb {ghuS} which means "to be
prepared to launch or project (something)". This verb never takes
the subject {-rup}. It is used primarily in reference to torpedoes
--so much so that if the object is not specifically stated, and
context does not dictate otherwise, it is always assumed to be
"torpedoes". According, both of the following sentences mean "Be
prepared to launch torpedoes!" or "Stand by on torpedoes!": {cha
yIghuS, yIghuS}. The verb {ghuS} can also be used in reference to,
among other things, rockets, missiles,and various kinds of energy
beams (which, like torpedoes, go from one point to another). It
is also used to describe the action of pulling back the elastic
band of a slingshot. In most other instances of preparedness,
however, {-rup} is required. [TKD 36f.]
The answer to your question is that {ghuS} derives from an older, clearly
transitive, meaning:
It may have been noticed that some of the terminology associated
with spears is identical to that associated with modern weaponry,
and certainly the vocabulary of spear-throwing was adapted for the
newer technology. ... The verb {ghuS} means both "lower (a spear)
to a horizontal position in preparation for throwing" and "prepare
to launch (a torpedo)". [KGT 65]
Note his revised gloss - "prepare to launch (a torpedo)" - which makes the
meaning a bit clearer.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons