tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Mar 01 09:44:34 1999
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RE: KLBC: Time & sleep.
Ian Wilkinson:
>QongDaq = bed, When I saw this I assumed it was sleep(ing) place. It's
>just that we think of a bed as the place we sleep. Would a Klingon think
>of a QongDaq as an item of furniture (I know Klingons are not supposed to
>use beds) or maybe a room or part of a room. Would it be reasonable to call
>the place an animal slept a QongDaq even though it is not a bed? Or is
>the QongDaq just the last place a Klingon did sleep or intended to sleep?
pagh:
: To start with, although it's extremely likely that <QongDaq> is somehow
: derived from <Qong> and <Daq> (or <-Daq>), we don't know *how* it is
: derived. All we know is that it's a noun with two syllables.
On startrek.klingon (6/97) Okrand discussed this very problem:
{QongDaq} "could be a normal compound noun"--but the important word
there is could: It could be a compound noun IF both {Qong} and {Daq}
are nouns. We know that {Daq} "place" is a noun; we know that {Qong}
is a verb (sleep); we don't know that {Qong} (presumably "sleep" or
"sleeping") is a noun. Maybe it is--but until we see it as a noun in
its own right (that is, in a place in a sentence where nouns occur
and in a construction where it's not attached to {Daq}) will we know
for sure. Until that time, it's a good hypothesis, but not a done deal
... a word like {QongDaq} is evidence that at an earlier stage in the
language, there may have been a noun {Qong} (meaning "sleep" or
something similar). Or maybe there was a verb suffix {-Daq} meaning
"place where one does X". On the other hand, you may have uncovered
evidence that there is currently a noun {Qong}--it just hasn't been
attested anywhere else yet, so we should keep our eyes peeled. But
without further evidence, it's a guess.
: Even if Klingons don't use the elaborate beds that Terrans do, they must
: have some sort of permanent sleeping areas, and these are called
: <QongDaqmey>. The exact nature of these <QongDaqmey> may vary greatly
: between regions, social classes, etc. In particular, we know that Klingon
: ships have bunks, even if they are basically just metal shelves.
We saw one of these metal shelf-like bunks aboard a Bird of Prey in TNG
"Unification, Pt.1". We also know from "Conversational Klingon" that
hotels {mebpa'mey} (lit. "guest-rooms/quarters") have them; the Terran
guest was warned that:
letqu' QongDaq.
The bed is very hard. CK
This, and the proverb
QongDaqDaq Qotbe' tlhInganpu'
Klingons do not lie in bed. TKW
implies that a {QongDaq} is some type of furniture, if fairly basic by
human standards.
: I don't really know how Klingons would view places where animals sleep. I am
: pretty certain a basket with pillows and a blanket for a Terran dog or cat
: would rate a <QongDaq>, but it would probably get a <-qoq> and a sneer as
: well.
If you really need to say this, how about {QongmeH Daq} "a place for
sleeping" for animals, to distinguish it from the noun {QongDaq}? The
pattern "Verb+{meH} Noun" turns out to be fairly productive in Klingon:
e.g. {QongmeH Duj} a "sleeper ship" (SkyBox S15).
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons