tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Oct 02 08:44:53 1997
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Taste, Dance, Arrow
- From: "Alexander Greene" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Taste, Dance, Arrow
- Date: Thu, 02 Oct 1997 08:44:34 PDT
KGT.
It's changed the way I use tlhIngan Hol, but not that much. For example,
I refer to the practice of using bang pongmey and keeping them secret
(pp. 197 - 203, "Direct Address,"). I found, to my surprise, that it is
official, though colloquial, to refer to one's parmaqqay by using a
"foodie" term, e.g. <chatlhoy> or <yuchoy.>
This is something that myself and my parmaqqay - who - is - not - to -
be - underestimated have been doing for years. For real. (And, although
I am not going to tell anyone the bang pongmey we use, in accordance
with custom, it has something to do with food, with the suffix -oy
attached as a mark of endearment).
Speaking of food, I note that there seems to be no generic term for "a
taste" as in "a flavour" or "dance (n)" such as in "We're holding a fire
dance tonight in honour of General Kemvok's son's second nentay. Come
along." I can see how I could use "I taste something strange in this
food" <Sojvam vay' Huj vImum>, but "dance <n>" still raises some minor
consternation. Minor, because I can now come up with terms such as
"Hunting is a dance of predator and prey." <qaSDI' chon mI' gheD wamwI'
je> - literally, "When a hunt is happening, the prey and the hunter
dance."
Oh, yes: arrows. I note no reference to bows or arrows in the Argot
section on Weaponry, either Traditional or Modern. I presume that this
is because Klingons favoured hand - thrown spears and, over their
evolution, use of a bow and arrow either never occurred to them or was
considered somehow a dishonourable way of bringing down prey or enemies
in combat. I refer to bows pulled by hand, rather than crossbows, but
nevertheless one would consider that Klingons would have encountered
primitive races armed with the same.
So would one consider a term such as *naHjejHom* <small spear> for
arrow? If that is accepted, what about "bow?"
DaH jImejnIS.
not gheDlIj narghjaj
Alexander T Greene
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