tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jul 30 06:51:57 1996
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Re: -neS and batlh
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>Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 21:01:08 -0700
>From: [email protected]
>qaSDI' 96-07-29 10:54:49 EDT, jatlh ~mark:
>> -neS means, as I said, that the
>> speaker is showing respect to the addressee, in addition to whatever else
>> is being said.
>But don't forget that {-neS} is used *only* when addressing someone of
>*higher rank* and when you want to show respect. So, a ship captain would
>never use it when addressing a farmer, for example.
Well, you're presuming a lot about ranks; we've never met any Klingon
farmers; maybe the profession is held in a certain respect. After all,
even the Emperor's soldiers need to eat, and Klingons are smart enough to
know which side their bread is buttered on. (And you can also talk about
the strength involved in wresting sustenance from the harsh climate of
Qo'noS [we're told it's harsh, I think.]) In any case, I'm not sure how
literal that rule is. It may have some truth to it in that a superior is
unlikely to honor an inferior, and -neS does seem like the kind of thing
you don't say to an inferior no matter how impressed you are with him. But
rank doesn't always apply; even a captain doesn't "outrank" a civilian, any
more than a yard weighs more than a pound. It's just not a relevant
measure. And we have heard on the tape -neS used by a presumably civilian
merchant to try to get a permit to sell dilithium.
I'm backtracking a little: you're right, I can't see -neS used by a
superior to an inferior (at least not his own inferior; possibly someone
else's), but I could see it used among equals, or where rank is not
explicit. Sort of like we use "Sir"; we use it for politeness and to imply
a ranking that may not actually be present (I don't outrank my waiter, but
he calls me "sir"), but where rank is there it follows it.
~mark
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