tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Dec 08 11:39:00 1999

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RE: KLBC: 'IH



jatlh jeyD:

> choQaHmo' jIbelqu'
maj.

> I guess there is no way jsut to say "thankyou" is there? 
> or if there is it probably isn't as straight forward :)

Actually, there is. It's <qatlho'>. What is not so simple is when to use it.
In English, we say "thank you" when someone opens the door in front of us or
passes the salt. It's a polite expression that is expected by society to
acknowledge the courtesy. Klingon doesn't do that. When someone opens the
door for you, the proper response is to go through and not waste his time or
yours saying "thank you". 

So when do Klingons say <qatlho'>? I think it's fairly safe to say that I
would say (and mean) <qatlho'> or <pItlho'> to the warrior who slew the
beast who was ready to consume me and my sister for dinner. I don't know
exactly what the rules are for when to thank someone and when not to, but it
is fair to say that you will often feel a bit rude while speaking Klingon
correctly, and that's OK. Save the <qatlho'> for times when you wish to
express real, significant gratitude.

> now this brings up an interesting questions.....
> Instead of writing  "choQaHmo' jIbelqu' "  I wanted to say 
> somthing along the lines of "You are helpfull" ..but, in 
> looking up the word help it doesn't say  "help/be helpfull"
> .......so how would one go about portraying this?

You had it right the first time. Klingon does not have a word for "be
helpful", but someone who is helpful gets to be that way by helping. So you
can just say <choQaHmo' . . . >


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian

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