tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 13 13:42:25 1997
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anatomical reference
- From: Guido <[email protected]>
- Subject: anatomical reference
- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 16:42:22 -0400 (EDT)
>> Hey, we ARE the Klingons, at least in this universe! Of course it is
>> non-canon, but if WE use, say, {'o'} as a slang word for
>> you-know-what,
>> then who is there to tell us a Klignon wouldn't "get it?" {{:-)
>>
>> -mIqIraH
>
> You mean if we use 'o' to mean ( . ) don't you?
>-
>cha'wIgh
Not much can be done about slang once it gains enough inertia. At *least*
'o' is a noun. English's own slangification of a *preposition* for the
anatomical form took someone a leap of synapsis. And then of course there's
the French who never forgive the corruption of "Mon derriere est mouille".
So you see, 'o' meaning "butt" (anatomical) is an Anglicism that's already
been done several times. Funny thing is, neither English nor French has an
original word meaning gluteus maximus. It's always been locational (behind,
bottom) or metaphorical (butt/bout = bump, back (e.g. of gun)). I am
venturing into unexperienced waters, but the most neutral (non-slang) German
version I know of is Gesa"sse, which is just a form of the verb "sitzen" (to
sit).
I hope I don't sound too hoity-toity, BUT the original meaning of 'o', by
TKD, is nautical/aviational. The people that used it as a locational, as
counterpart to 'et, were admittedly stretching it. After all, can everything
be said to have a "fore" and "aft", except metaphorically (people, animals,
houses)? It probably doesn't belong in ranks with words like retlh and Dung,
but it has been employed there infrequently (*sheepish grin*). 'o' has
potential for lots of uses, but of course if we persist in the cliche of
using it as anatomical, it might limit certain interpretations to unwitting
crudity. Can a speaker really command an audience that can't possibly take
seriously phraseology like "the ass of a sentence" or "the butt of my ship"?
Maybe we should really talk to Okrand, who blessed us with ngech as
cleavage, because who knew Klingons thought so *geographically* about such
things. :-)
Guido