tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Oct 08 20:27:36 1994

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re: Boiling blood



According to [email protected]:
> 
> |CharghwI' wrote:
> |
> | Modern Klingon grammar would probably prefer:
> |
> | pubbe'jaj 'IwlIj 'ej jachjaj 'oH.
...
> 
> HIvqa' veqlargh
> 
> But a well timed replacement proverb may just save the day.  Thanks for the 
> comments, I had considered both 'ej and je but I was at work using K3 and it 
> doesn't distinguish between the two, so I guessed.  Since Klingons value 
> acuracy, that was my biggest mistake. ;-)
> 
> The examples in TKD put the subject after the verb modified with -jaj.  
> Besides trying not to confuse the phrase with the traditional toast, can you 
> actually put the verb out front and be understood?
  
By all grammatical conventions, the verb should come first and
the subject should follow it. Only in the toasts offered in the
audio tapes is the order reversed. This was almost certainly a
mistake in CK, but when our respected Krankor (from whom we've
heard ENTIRELY too little, lately) pointed out the error in
HolQeD, Okrand responded in PK that "someone reversed two
words" in one of the original toasts, thereby insulting several
generations of the Klingon's family and "they are still finding
his pieces scattered throughout the galaxy."

Okrand essentially justified his mistake by making up a new
rule that only he can use. Only traditional toasts place the
subject before the verb, and only Okrand can write a
traditional toast. I wonder what kind of new rule he'll make to
tell us why cha'maH wa' rep is supposed to be noon, when it
really means 9:00 PM...

charghwI"



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