tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Nov 17 14:57:44 2006
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Re: Dragons and ketchup
mIq'ey:
> >>KGT lists {Haq} as "intervene in" but in TKD {mun} is just
> >>"intervene". Do you suppose that {mun} can also take an object?
Voragh:
> >Unfortunately {mun} has never been used, so we just don't know.
mIq'ey:
>That's a shame, although I rather expected it. I just wonder whether
>slang is appropriate here. The saying gets much of its effectiveness from
>its mock-serious tone, and I wonder if injecting a slang term wouldn't
>diminish that (like saying "Don't mess around in the affairs of dragons"
>instead of "Do not meddle" or "Meddle not"). OTOH if {mun} can't be used
>transitively, saying the equivalent of "Do not intervene the affairs of
>dragons" wouldn't improve things any.
A common work-around when dealing with intransitive verbs of this type is
to use a transitive verb like {qel} "take into account, consider" or {bop}
"be (all) about something". E.g.
batlh qelDI' tlhIngan, lumbe'
A Klingon does not postpone a matter of honor. (TKW)
'e' bop.
That's what it's all about. (qep'a' 2005)
So one can say:
lung qelDI' yImunQo'!
Meddle not in the affairs of dragons.
("When considering a dragon [dragons], do not meddle!")
You can omit the plural suffix, especially in general statements of this type.
Since number is an optional category in Klingon (the plural suffix
may be left off even if the word refers to more than one thing)...
(st.klingon 3/23/98)
... the plural suffix -mey is never required (KGT 74)
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons