tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jan 08 14:48:03 1999

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Quite a few more word puns

I went through my Klingon literature and noticed a few more puns. (Well 
I *think* they're puns. Either that or they're merely coincidences and I 
was looking way too hard.)

bIghHa' = jail   
 If you pronounce this one out loud, it sort of sounds like a shortened 
form of "big house," which in some places is a slang term for jail. 

qompogh = In KGT, Okrand describes a dish that is made my mashing 
vegetable matter into a nice paste and then fermenting it. "qompogh" 
sounds sort of like "compost."

qettlhup = In KGT, Okrand also describes a type of sauce, called 
qettlhup. If you were to ask for ketchup in a Klingon eating 
establishmet, you would probably get this, as "ketchup" and "qettlhup" 
sound quite similar. (At least they sound alike more than my other 
examples.)

tIq = heart
  A heart is sometimes referred to as a "ticker."

vut = cook (v)
  "vut" sounds like "food" pronounced with an accent. (What type of 
accent I'm not sure.)
 
yay = victory
  This looks like, but doesn't sound like, the exclamation "yay!",  
which is used sometimes used as a exclamation of victory, success, 
happiness, etc. usually by children. (Or if you've seen Monty Python and 
the Holy Grail: "And they were forced to eat Robin's minstrels, and 
there was much rejoicing." "Yay!")

SoSBor = motherboard
I found this on the KLI new words list. SoS is "mother" and "bor", well, 
sounds like board.

qIl = cancel (v)
qIl sounds like "kill", which (metaphorically at least) could be used to 
mean "cancel," as they both refer to ending something. 

run = be short in stature 
Just add a "t" to the end of "run."

na'ran = In KGT, this is described as a sweet fruit which is usually 
used for marinades, but which Terrans seem to like the juice of the 
na'ran all by itself, especially in the morning. Sounds like an orange, 
which the Spanish word for is, coincidentally (?) "naranja."

tay' = be together (v)
"tay'" sounds like "tie." If you tie to things to each other, they're 
together.

'Iw = blood
Say it out loud and it sounds like "Ewww!", an expression of disgust. 
Blood (especially in large quantities) is quite capable of making many 
people disgusted. (Do you suppose that perhaps Okrand is a little 
grossed out by blood? Hmm...)

I know this was probly to make Okrand's job easier, but does anyone else 
find it odd that two languages which (supposedly) developed light years 
apart both just happen to have similar alphabetical order?
(Curiouser and curiouser...)

Well, that's the puns. Do you think they may actually be intentional, or 
do you think I need to spend more of my free time outside?

P.S. Is there a word or phrase for pun in Klingon? My guess is mu' qID 
(word joke.)

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