tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 05 11:46:06 2015
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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Beginners corner
Maxim Sonin:
>> "We are not angels, boy": mugh jInID.
>> "loDHom, Qulpu' maHbe'": jIchenmoH.
Qov:
> Qul is a verb meaning “research.” Perhaps you made a typo for Qun,
> meaning “god”? ... I’m guessing the phrase is a quotation, meaning
> “We’re not perfect” or even “we fight dirty.” Lacking a Klingon
> theology that includes angels, I probably would use an expression
> conveying the same idea rather than trying to construct a term for
> righteous minions of a benevolent deity.
If Maxim does want some sort of Klingon equivalent, we have the nouns {Sub} "hero" or, even better, the slang term {Ho'} "idol, someone worthy of emulation, something deserving of respect". Okrand on {Ho'}:
KGT 152-53: This is actually the word for tooth, but it is applied to someone who is admired or revered. It might be used in a phrase such as {Ho' SoH} ("You are an idol" or "You are someone worthy of emulation"; literally, "You are a tooth") or {Ho' ghaH HoD'e'} ("The captain is an idol"; literally, "The captain is a tooth"). Grammatically, even as slang, {Ho'} follows the rules appropriate to its literal meaning. Thus, even though it may refer to a person, its plural is {Ho'Du'} (teeth), making use of the plural suffix for body parts ({-Du'}), not {Ho'pu'}, with {-pu'}, the plural suffix for beings capable of using language. Similarly, it never takes the possessive suffixes associated with beings capable of using language. That is, my idol (literally, "my tooth") is {Ho'wIj} (with {-wIj}, the general suffix for "my"), not {Ho'wI'} (with {-wI'}, the suffix for "my" used with beings capable of using language). The slang meaning of {Ho'} is no doubt influenced by the identically sounding verb {Ho'} (admire), and, indeed, the closest nonslang counterpart is probably a phrase with this verb: {HoD Ho'lu'} ("The captain is admired").
"Still, to die a true hero...!" (Worf to Riker, TNG "The Icarus Factor") -- {Subna'} "true hero" using the suffix {-na'} "definite, definitely, true, no doubt, real" (cf. TKD 24-25).
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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