tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Dec 26 18:40:49 1997
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Re: Meaning of nuqneH
- From: "Neal Schermerhorn" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Meaning of nuqneH
- Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 21:40:19 -0500
ghItlh William Cody:
>nuqneH is a greeting with the meaning "What do you want" The question I
>have is: many people begin their postings with "nuqneH" Wouldn't this be
>like starting a conversation by walking up to someone and saying "What do
>you want?"? Wouldn't the person being addressed need to say "nuqneH",
>NOT
>the person addressing? I understand it is used as a greeting, but is it
>being used by the wrong person in a conversation?
I responded to a similar question once on the MSN BBS and MO followed up.
First is MO's follow-up, then my post. The implication seems to be that it's
not out-and-out horrible, but it is incorrect within Klingon culture.
Whether posters to this list are to conform to Klingon culture is another
argument.
Qermaq
-----Original Message-----
From: Marc Okrand <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand
Date: Monday, September 01, 1997 03:15 PM
Subject: Re: Casual?
>There's a bit more about all of this in the new book "Klingon For the
>Galactic Traveler" (pages 184-185), but I (and what it says in the book)
>agree with what Neal wrote.
>
>It is not infrequent to hear nonnative speakers of Klingon use <nuqneH>
>"what do you want?" as if it meant "hello" or the like in exchanges such
>as:
>
> Speaker #1: nuqneH
>
> Speaker#2: nuqneH
>
>No one steeped in Klingon culture would do this, however (except in some
>sort of a joking context, perhaps). To begin a conversation, just start!
>Or approach someone and wait for him/her to say <nuqneH> to you. If that
>person doesn't say anything, you probably don't want to talk to him/her
>anyway.
>
>
>
>Neal Schermerhorn <[email protected]> wrote in article
><01bcb035$3dbec900$5f492399@dtorvtwg>...
>> (1) Klingons do not make smalltalk. Therefore there is no word for Hello.
>> If a Klingon approaches you and does not immediately state his business,
>> you would greet him with nuqneH - that means What do you want? (Some use
>> this as an all-purpose greeting - but I personally don't think it's meant
>> to be that.) Sometimes Qapla' (Success!) is used as a salutation or as a
>> greeting on rare occasion. But these are all really utilitarian language
>-
>> if a Klingon did not really wish success on the other party, he most
>> assuredly would not say Qapla'.
>