tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jul 31 20:36:12 1996

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Re: -neS and batlh



qaSDI' 96-07-31 17:16:19 EDT, jatlh dave yeung:

> mochvaD neH jatlhmeH {-neS} lo'lu' 'e' jatlh vay'.  'ach "Sins of the 
>  Father"Daq wo'rIvvaD jatlh pIqarD, {jIlajneS} jatlh ghaH.  
>  Someone said that {-neS} is used only to address superiors.  But in "Sins 
>  of the Father", Picard says to Worf {jIlajneS}.
>  
>  This happens when Worf asks Picard to be his {cha'DIch}.  My question is, 
>  is this a correct usage of {-neS}, or did Picard screw up?  Clearly, Worf 
>  is not his superior, at least in Starfleet.  Or did Worf become his 
>  superior (in ritual) the instant Picard accepts to be his {cha'DIch}?  Or 
>  did the writers screw up and that was supposed to be "I am honoured to 
>  accept" (which I think would be {jIlaj vaj jIquv} instead of "I accept, 
>  your honour"?

It may be that whoever wrote that line got lucky.  In accepting the role of
{cha'DIch}, Picard became subordinate to Worf, and {-neS} would certainly be
applicable.  However, it's entirely possible that they though it meant
something like {jIlaj vaj jIquv}.  Who knows?  It works either way.  I'd like
to think Picard understood enough Klingon to use {-neS} correctly.

SuStel
Stardate 96582.9


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