tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Jun 21 10:20:55 2014
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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] lung
On 6/21/2014 8:02 AM, De'vID wrote:
André Müller:
We don't know how big Klingon gharghmey can be.
De'vID:
Actually, we do. The word {ghargh} originally referred to the giant
worm- or serpent-like creature on the Genesis Planet which attacked
and wrapped itself around Kruge. [...]
So {ghargh} can, with no suffix, refer to something comparable in size
to a Klingon.
Gaerfindel:
{-'a'} means more than just size, though; even I, a mere beginner, know
that.
Indeed. A {mIv'a'} might be much smaller than a {mIv}. A baby dragon,
of the type described by SuStel, would be a {ghargh'a'} even if it's
smaller than something else which is a {ghargh}.
Gaerfindel:
My purpose in using {ghargh'a'} instead of just {ghargh} is partly
that Oberyn is know as the "Red Viper". Vipers are so much more deadly that
other {gharghmey}, and deadly is a trait Klingons respect, no?
The -'a' does not connote deadliness or respect.
I think you're imagining something along the lines of Crocodile Dundee
saying, "That's not a knife. THAT'S a knife." -'a' doesn't work like that.
Are vipers actually more deadly than regular {gharghmey}? I think a
Klingon would beg to differ. The {ghargh} that attacked Kruge would
probably eat vipers for breakfast.
I think if you want to emphasise that vipers are a venomous or
particular deadly sort of snake, there are more appropriate tools than
{-'a'}. {tar ghargh}, for example, or even {tar'a' ghargh}.
Exactly how you express this in Klingon depends on what's important to you.
Literally, "deadly serpent" would be {HeghmoHbogh ghargh}.
It's an "Earth snake" {tera' ghargh}.
You might call it a {tar ghargh} "poison-snake."
None of the above distinguish between a viper and another poisonous
snake, however.
If the species is important, a Klingon might transliterate: *{vay'per}.
But don't try that on this list without warning that you're transliterating!
As a cognomen or nickname that's supposed to connote deadliness, I'd
probably go with {HeghmoHbogh ghargh Doq}, though it's a bit clumsier
than "Red Viper." Otherwise, {tar ghargh Doq} trips better off the tongue.
--
SuStel
http://www.trimboli.name/
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