tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Aug 19 22:00:52 1999
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Re: Spell My Name Right! (was: Re: greetings)
quljIb:
> Yes, I know, an unusual usage to be sure, pagh *mu'Du'vaD* vIHechchu'qu'.
> My name is a part of me, almost a body part, you might say, so I thought
> is was appropriate.
: yet you're only asking me to consider a single word. Don't get carried
: away with poetic uses of -Du'. Yes, it's specific to body parts and yes
: you can thus do clever poetic (and very marked) uses of it to imply some
: things, but it still is only what it is: a PLURAL MARKER which happens to
: mark plurals of body-parts.
quljIb:
> "Word parts of my name." But I see your point.
And it is {-mey} which is often used "incorrectly", not {-Du'}. TKD p.23:
"The suffix {-mey} cannot be used with body parts. It should be noted,
however, that Klingon poets often violate this grammatical rule in order
to evoke particular moods in their poetry. Thus, forms such as {tlhonmey}
'nostrils scattered all about' do occur. Until the subtle nuances of such
constructions are firmly grasped, however, it is suggested that students
of Klingon stick to the rules."
Okrand was very careful to state that such marked use of plural markers is
only done by Klingon poets, presumably in their poems where the audience is
on the alert for such tricks of language and will appreciate them. This is
not a license for colorful expression, but merely an occasional rare device
limited to *poetry*, not prose, let alone mundane email. Outside of
poetry, particularly if you're an off-worlder, using the wrong suffix will
simply be seen as an ignorant mistake... if you're lucky. KGT p.190:
"Similarly, a group of heads of households would probably not appreciate
being referred to as {joHDu'}, since that would be the appropriate way
to say Lords or Ladies only if they were body parts. The only thing worse
would be combining mispronunciation with grammatical blundering, such as by
saying {joQDu'wIj} (my ribs) ... when {joHpu'wI'} (my Lords, my Ladies) is
intended. Mistakes of this kind are simply not tolerated and there are no
recorded instances of anyone living long enough to repeat the offense."
However, the image of "nostrils scattered all about" is very seductive.
Beginners are particularly fond of playing with this poetic device, I
imagine because plurals are one of the first things beginners feel they
have mastered.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons