tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 23 06:54:11 2011
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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Inherently plural nouns and numbers
TKW 27: The Klingon word for "instincts" is {Duj}, and it is
grammatically correct to treat it as singular (a bundle or collection
of instincts) or plural (individual instincts).
guljIb:
> I wonder if there's some connection between the meaning of
> {DujlIj yIvoqtaH} "Always trust your instincts (each one
> separately)", and {DujlIj yItoqtaH}; "Always trust you're
> ship." Is this an intentional double entendre on MO's part?
> Or is it simply a happenstance of homophony?
It's quite intentional. Marc Okrand on the idiom {vaj Duj chIj} "navigate a warrior ship" in "Klingon for the Galactic Traveller":
KGT 113-115: This is a way to say have strength of character. This sense clearly came about because of the existence in Klingon of two words pronounced {Duj}, one meaning "ship, vessel", the other meaning "instincts". If {Duj} is taken in its 'ship' sense, then {vaj Duj} means "warrior ship", something that is certainly appropriate to navigate ({chIj}). On the other hand, if {Duj} is taken to mean "instincts", then {vaj Duj} means "warrior instincts" and the phrase {vaj Duj chIj" ("navigate warrior instincts") makes no sense unless interpreted idiomatically. To a Klingon, this would be to set and direct the course or use of these instincts--that is, to be in control of them. The phrase {vaj Duj} ("warrior vessel" or "warrior instincts"), even without the verb {chIj} (navigate), is taken to mean strength of character, though it can also be used literally. It is noteworthy that in this idiom the word for warrior is not the frequently heard {SuvwI'}, which would denote an individual warrior, but rather is {vaj}, which refers to the whole idea of being a warrior. Thus, when {Duj} is taken to mean instincts, {vaj Duj} refers to the instincts associated with being a warrior or the instincts needed for combat; {SuvwI' Duj} would mean the instincts of a specific warrior. If {Duj} is taken to mean ship, {vaj Duj} ("warrior ship") would suggest that the ship itself has the characteristics of a warrior, a perfectly reasonable notion. To express that a ship is that of a specific warrior, the word {SuvwI'} is appropriate: {SuvwI' Duj} ("warrior's ship"). The idiom, referring to strength of character, may be used in sentences such as {vaj Duj DachIj} ("You navigate a warrior ship"--that is, "You have strength of character") or {vaj Duj chIjbe'} ("He/she does not navigate a warrior ship"--that is, "He/she lacks strength of character").
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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