tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Jun 22 20:15:09 1997

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RE: KLBC: Klingon desktop items



[email protected] on behalf of Michael DeMatteo wrote:

> The translation for nuqneh is "What do you want?." My question is how can
> nuqneH be 
> considered a greeting?

A Klingon enters a shop.  The shopkeeper sees him, looks him over, and says, 
{nuqneH} "What do you want?"  In this case, the Klingon had better immediately 
tell him what he wants to buy.

A servant working for a well-respected Klingon house walks into his employer's 
practice while the boss is working out.  The boss stops and waits for the 
servant to tell him what's up.  The servant is hesitant for some reason.  The 
boss, impatient, says {nuqneH}?

These are examples of {nuqneH}.  They are greetings, because they are used to 
get the conversation rolling.  Furthermore, they're much more to the point 
than "hello," which so far as I know doesn't mean anything at all.

Some people, however, believe that {nuqneH} is exactly the same as "hello."  
They have no problem with the idea of two Klingons passing in the street, 
recognizing each other, saying {nuqneH} to each other, and walking on.

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97476.1


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