Re: SachtaH Holmaj!

[Carleton Copeland <copeland@eycis.com>]

I reread my last message and wasn't sure that even I understood what I was trying to say.  QInvamDaq jInIDqa':

If /qagh vIparHa'/ can only be *I don't dislike gagh*, then how would you translate *I like gagh*?  The English phrases are not equivalent.  Worse yet, /yIH vIparHa'be'/, which seems a natural enough thing to say in Klingon, becomes *I don't not dislike tribbles*.

My only point is that if /vIparHa'/ is the simplest and most natural way of saying *I like it* in Klingon, then /qamuSHa'/ may be just as natural a way of saying *I love you* (though the negative construction and "mushiness" of the word may be a clue as to Klingon cultural attitudes).

Still, the next time I fall in love with a Klingon, I'm definitely going to use /bangwI' SoH/.  (Dare I suggest that /bang/ is also a pun, or have I gone too far this time?)

qa'ral