tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Apr 17 15:45:58 1996
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Instant Coffee
- From: "David Wood" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Instant Coffee
- Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 18:45:32 -0400 (EDT)
There are two possible threads here. Use the title that fits. It was just an
unfortunate coincidence I could make the title, above...
#1: INSTANT
I was trying some suffixes with some other suffixes, and I came up with this
eyesore:
-taHHa'
That's the VS7 {-taH} "continuous", combined with the VSR {Ha'} "undo". What
would that mean? Discontinuous, starting and stopping many, many times?
Instantaneous, occuring in less than the blink of an eye? I'm inclined to go for
the latter.
There are other combinations I wonder about too, like {-neSHa'} (dishonored?
ashamed? offended?) and {-lI'Ha'} (interrupted?) and {-beHHa'} (taken down?
disassembled?) and {-choHHa'} (change back? maintain? the literal undo?).
And before you ask, there's no reason except that I want to find out for myself
just what tools of the language are capable of, and perhaps I can make other
people think the funny thoughts I do too.
#2: COFFEE
Two wondrous things happened last night.
First, I found The Klingon Way at the local bookstore (majQa!). (Fine book, but
no color pictures except the front, and all those shots of Gowron... could be
stills from the Klingon production of "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.")
Second, I was inspired to call a friend running an event this weekend and offer
my services as "consulting barista" in the con suite.
And well, somewhere in the back of my murky and twisted mind, the two thoughts
bumped and formed the following notion:
{yIqet! yISo'! [espresso] tlhutlhqa' tlhInganpu!}
..which of course means "Run! Hide! The Klingons are on the espresso again!"
But I couldn't think how to express espresso (sorry!).
My first impulse was to try {qa'vIn HoSghaj}, which seems to mean just strong
coffee, not the murky black pressure-brewed stuff I'm looking for.
Next, I tried {qa'vIn'a'}, which I think has come closest yet. I figured this
might also mean "large coffee..."
..until I realized that's what attempt #3 meant: {qa'vIn tin}.
Given the way I brew coffee, perhaps I should combine them, creating:
{qa'vIn'a' tin HoSghaj}
..but that more resembles the stuff left in the filter. Plus it's a mouthful.
And if you've ever had a mouthful of hot coffee grounds, you know how painful it
can be. Any suggestions? Preferences? One lump or two?
bIQvaD tlhIngan vuvmoH qa'vIn'a'wIj.
(Let's see what anguished shouts THAT brings. Maybe I should just say {jI'oy'!}
now and shut up...)
-- David Wood, Freelance Computer Consultant
("Freelance" is just a cheesy way of saying "Irregularly Employed")