tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Dec 23 09:21:35 1998
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Re: My old neighbor
charghwI' comments on peHruS's suggestion:
: > In Klingon {ngo'} is not as ambiguous
: >as "old" in English, but if {nI'} can be used adjectivally to
: >describe an aspect of a noun which is not limited to time
: >related nouns, like {poH}, then this should work fine.
SuStel:
: Why should {nI'} be able to describe an aspect of a noun, rather than a
: noun? {nI'} means "be lengthy (in duration)," and {jIl nI'} means "the
: neighbor who is lengthy in duration." Nonsense. You're trying to describe
: the time over which you've known the neighbor, not the neighbor himself.
People get so confused as to those parenthetical comments in the glossaries,
which Okrand uses merely to distinguish between two or more English homonyms.
For example:
tIq "be long, be lengthy" (of an object)
nI' "be long, be lengthy" (duration)
Although I quite agree with SuStel that {nI'} would be inappropriate to refer
to a person, it is used with nouns other than {poH}:
poH nI'
a long time. KGT
For example, a life {yIn} can be {nI'}:
nI'be' yInmaj 'ach wovqu'
Our lives burn short and bright. (Anthem)
yIn nI' yISIQ 'ej yIchep
Live long and prosper! (Radio Times)
as well as a day {jaj}, a night {ram} and even "today" {DaHjaj}:
nI' jajvam
This day is long. (st.klingon BBS)
nI' ram
The night is long. KGT
nI' DaHjaj
Today is long. (st.klingon BBS)
It may be that to Klingons, an old friend, like an old warrior, is merely one
who is advanced in years, however long the acquaintance.
SuvwI'pu' qan tu'lu'be'
There are no old warriors. TKW
If you really need to distinguish between an elderly friend {jup qan} whom
you've recently befriended and a younger friend whom you've trusted your
entire
life, you may be forced to say something like
poH nI' jupwI' ghaH matlh Qup'e'
Young Maltz is my long-time friend.
_________________________________________________________________________
Steven Boozer The University of Chicago Library [email protected]