tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Apr 20 07:37:08 1999
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{-vo'} (was Re: Word for "god"?)
[email protected] writes:
> Sovvo' HoS
jey'el answered:
>In a motto or slogan, you may wish to follow the preferred Klingon style by
>using a verb. Examples are:
>
>{Sovvo' HoS wISuq} "Out of knowledge we get power."
>{Sovvo' HoS wIlIng} "Out of knowledge we produce power."
>{Sovvo' HoS wIchenmoH} "Out of knowledge we create power."
The full proverb in a complete English sentence is of course:
Knowledge is power.
HoS 'oH Sov'e'.
However, verbs aren't always necessary in Klingon sayings and proverbs. For
example:
ta'mey Dun, bommey Dun.
Great deeds, great songs. TKW
pung ghap HoS.
Mercy or power. [sic] TKW
A more important point is that the Type 5 suffix {-vo'} "from, direction
away from" is not used for this abstract, metaphorical sense as in English.
Like {-Daq] it refers to motion away from a real, physical location only:
This suffix is similar to {-Daq} but is used only when action
is in a direction away from the noun suffixed with {-vo'}:
{pa'vo' yIjaH} "Leave the room!"
A more literal translation of this sentence might be "Go from
the room!" (TKD p.28)
A good way to remember this physical sense of both {-Daq} and {-vo'} is the
Federation crewman's question from "Power Klingon":
naDevvo' vaS'a'Daq majaHlaH'a'?
Can we get to the Great Hall from here?
There is one example where the physical meaning seems less than obvious:
chaq SoHvo' vay' vIje' vIneH.
[Maybe I'd like to buy something from you.] PK
This is from the untranslated scene at the beginning of the tape. Note that
this is what the Terran says, before he's had the benefit of the lessons
provided in "Power Klingon", so it may intentionally be wrong and an
over-literal translation of Federation Standard. But even here, there is a
physical or locative sense implied: merchandise moves from the merchant to
the customer.
For Ben's motto, I would suggest using {-mo'} "due to, because of, for,
since" instead: {Sovmo' HoS}. And since {-mo'} is both a noun and a verb
suffix, it can be used with either the nouns {Sov} "knowledge" and {HoS}
"strength, energy, power" or the clipped verbs {Sov} "know" and {HoS} "be
strong", making it ideal for double entendres and pithy proverbs.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons