tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 10 06:15:13 1993
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Re: Power Klingon
- From: Will Martin <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Power Klingon
- Date: Wed, 10 Nov 93 09:14:58 EST
On Nov 10, 8:11am, Nick Nicholas wrote:
> Subject: Re: Power Klingon
...
> #There is finally a "two-armed" relative clause, but Okrand doesn't use the
> #"-'e'" prefix as we do, indicating that it is at least optional (he's
> #communicated that it was okay, though, hasn't he?). The proverb is "Hov
> #ghajbe'bogh ram rur pegh ghajbe'bogh jaj" (a day without secrets is like a
> #night without stars). Again, this is a proverb, and thus possibly
> #anomolous.
Does this mean it could be translated as, "The secrets which are not had
by a day resemble the stars not had by a night."? My own suspicion is that
there is no need of 'e' simply because the first entire sentence resembles
the second entire sentence. The statement is not that the day resembles the
night and the day happens to have no secrets and the night happens to have no
stars. The statement is that a day having no secrets resembles a night having
no stars. An episode of a day having no secrets resembles an episode of a
night having no stars. Responses?
...
> #There's also "Don't lick my forehead" which sounds a lot like "QuchwIj
> #DroSQo'", which represents, if I hear aright, an
> #innovation in Klingon words, as "?DroSQo'" starts with a consonant
> #cluster.
>
> I suspected when I read this, and wasn't disconfirmed on listening, that
> the word is probably DeroSQo' (cf. tera'ngan, pronounced tra'ngan)
>
I wonder if it might be ghroSQo', since there is only one allowed
consonant cluster in a Klingon syllable and it does involve the "r", and
that's "ghr". TKD has no words beginning with that cluster, though it does
often end syllables with it, so maybe this would be our first example of it
LEADING a syllable? I have not checked the tape, but if I listen to myself
say "DroSQo'" and "ghroSQo'", I could understand someone confusing the two,
if they didn't understand that "DroSQo'" violates basic Klingon morphology
(if that's the word).
It would also fit Okrandian humor, since licking a Klingon forehead
might be considered "gross" (ghroS) by some (and mighty nice by others).
-- charghwI'