tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 24 10:47:19 1996
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
tlhIngan tIgh (was RE: lommey)
- From: Steven Boozer <[email protected]>
- Subject: tlhIngan tIgh (was RE: lommey)
- Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 12:46:37 -0600 (CST)
>December 23, 1996 5:07 AM, jatlh peHruS:
>> > <<SuStel, reH maQochbe'laH. tlhIngan tighmey DIHaDnIStaH.>>
>>
>> I question the use of
>> {tIghmey}. Shouldn't that be an inherent plural? Therefore, I suggest
>> {tIgh} as sufficient.
>
>We have no way of knowing this that I can recall. The only two instances of
>the word in use that I know are in the title of TKW: {tlhIngan tIgh}, and on
>KCD, in the game where Gowron says "You do not see the {tIgh} which shapes our
>every act" (or something like that). The first could simply be a case of not
>using the optional plural suffix, and the second one is just an actor putting
>a Klingon word in an English sentence. The grammars are not at all
>compatible, and I am not prepared to make assumptions on plurality of Klingon
>words from it. Therefore, I see no way to support your conclusion.
>
>SuStel
There is another word that may behave similarly, {ghob} "ethics, virtue":
qorDu' SaHlu'chugh 'ej matlhlu'chugh vaj wa' tlhIngan ghob potlhqu'
devotion and loyalty to family is one of the most important Klingon
virtues. S13
pop 'oH ghob'e'
Virtue is the reward. TKW
ghob tIvnISbe'lu'
One need not enjoy virtue. TKW
batlh ghob yIpab.
Adhere to virtue honorably. TKW
Concidentally, the original title of {tlhIngan tIgh} "The Klingon Way" was
{tlhIngan ghobmey paq} "The Klingon Book of Virtues" according to the
Library of Congress LC-CIP cataloging data. Apparently Simon & Schuster
decided to change the title, possibly not to confuse it with another _Book
of Virtues_ which was released at about the same time, and so Okrand came up
with the rather bland {tlhIngan tIgh} at the last minute. Note that this
*is* a count noun (ghobmey) as one can speak of individual virtues (see the
Introduction to TKW) and S13 also refers to {wa' ghob}. The same thing may
happen with {tIgh}, but we have no examples so far. Outside of the title,
the only thing I have is:
"You outsiders see only our fierceness, our love of battle. You do not see
the {tIgh}, the honor, that shapes our every act." (Gowron in STK [the
novelization])
Hmmm... I would have used {ghob} here!
Theoretical question: since the phrase {tlhIngan ghobmey paq} was never
officially used in any *published* Klingon materials, is this really canon
for the wider Klingonist community or merely supplemental info from Okrand
(the equivalent of a phone call [qa'vIn] or casual conversation at a qep'a'
['I', ngech, nughI'])? Personally, I accept it as canonical.
-- Voragh