tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Nov 24 12:42:55 1995

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Re: qeylIS betleH

>>     Dax and Kor bid each other maj ram.  [KLD has maj = good (excl)]
>>Apparently a noun be added following an exclamation (interjection).
>
>Apparently someone either is trying to use "real" :-) Klingon and failing
>badly, or is intentionally changing the rules.  I favor my first theory --
>"Never ascribe to malice what can be explained by stupidity."

We have been told that there are no "polite" greetings in Klingon. (other
than "nuqneH").  It seens to me that "maj ram" would not be a Klingon
expression, but could have been an attempt to translate "good night".  "ram
QaQ", which would seem to me to be better Klingon, would refer to a night
which is good.  I might translate "good night" as something like "ram QaQ
Daghajjaj" (although that seems a bit formal) or "ram QaQ yIghaj" (which
sounds a bit harsh).

Then again, "nuqneH" doesn't "follow the rules" either.  If you really
wanted to know what someone wanted, you would probably ask: "nuq DaneH?"

--Qeygh

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