tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jun 28 08:40:52 2006
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Klingon WOTD: paw' (verb)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Wednesday, June 28, 2006.
>
>Klingon word: paw'
>Part of Speech: verb
>Definition: collide
>
>Homonyms:
> paw' (verb) - butt heads (slang)
Used in canon:
paw' Dujmey
The ships collide. KGT
Explained in KGT (p. 157f.):
This verb describes a very common habit among Klingon warriors,
particularly at festive occasions. Two Klingons stand close
together, facing each other, and, with great joviality, slam their
foreheads together. The word literally means "collide" and is
usually (though hardly exclusively) heard when referring to
vehicles. In both its literal and slang usages, {paw'} takes a
plural subject (...) {paw' lupDujHommey} ("The shuttlecraft
collide"). To refer to something in motion colliding with some-
thing stationary, a different verb, {ngeQ} ("bump into, collide
with") is used, as in {raS ngeQ tera'ngan} ("The Terran bumps
into the table"). When the subject of {paw'} is persons, the most
common interpretation of the verb is the slang onethat is, "butt
heads". (...) When the subject of {paw'} is anything other than
persons, the most likely interpretation is the non-slang one,
"collide". If one wanted to say that two persons collide but not
imply that they butt heads, the verb {ngeQ} would probably be
used along with the suffix {-chuq} ("each other") as in {ngeQchuq
tera'nganpu'} ("The Terrans collide with each other"). There is
no simple non-slang verb for "butt heads".
However, see the odd line from "Conversational Klingon":
qIp'egh nachDu'chaj tlhIngan SuvwI'pu'
Klingon warriors are butting heads. CK
Sustel once commented: "This sentence really doesn't make much sense to
me... However, perhaps Okrand has some weird sort of grammar in
mind..." OTOH since the scene took place in a bar, I prefer to think that
the Klingon might have been a little drunk when he said this to his Terran
guest. <g>
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons