tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 24 05:54:59 1996
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Re: hello
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>Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 15:06:57 -0800
>From: "Clint St.Laurent" <[email protected]>
>
>>Oh dear, here we go again.
>>
>>{nuqneH} is indeed the only standard greeting, but that doesn't mean you use
>>it the same way you use "hello." Klingons have social situations where it
>>is
>>correct to use {nuqneH}. Why would it mean "what do you want?" if it really
>>meant "hello?"
>
>I am only a beginner but it seems like a LOT of debate is waging over
>this simple phrase... Why would humans ask "what's up?" when they mean
>'hello'? Shouldn't this phrase (nuqneH) be taken as an idiom rather than
>literally? After all, nobody expects to see canines and felines hitting
>the ground just because "it's raining cats and dogs."
There has been a lot of debate over this very point, and I must say that if
you take the stand that "nuqneH" is a fossilized greeting devoid of its
literal meaning, you will have some rather good company. As you will if
you take the opposite standpoint. I believe Krankor has said that he
considers it simply a greeting, its literal meaning irrelevant, and he uses
it to greet people. And others do not. This is probably a FAQ; it
certainly arises constantly on this list. I don't really think we can say
with certainty that either opinion is "wrong." I can certainly believe
that "nuqneH" could be an idiomatic expression that you can use even when
starting a conversation (after all, if I wanted to as "what do you want?"
I'd say "nuq DaneH?") I'm not about to whale on anyone for taking either
position.
~mark
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