tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Nov 18 12:22:34 1999
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Re: Klingon WOTD: baj (v)
Voragh:
> For some reason, even after going into such detail in the Dictionary,
> Okrand took an intense dislike to {net} and has never used it again in
> any other source AFAIK. This prejudice explains the frequent use of
> {'e'} even where the grammar is unusual, even controversial.
SuStel:
: Intense dislike? I doubt it. Here we simply have a logical case of Okrand
: forgetting exactly how {net} works. He's not trying to demonstrate actual
: Klingon usage (though, if he's cornered, he'll explain it away as something
: like that). He just goofed. A lot. Many other students of Klingon make
: the same mistake many times before figuring it out.
Then strike "intense". But this is not a mistake or a case of Okrand simply
"forgetting exactly how {net} works" as he's done with, for example, {lu-} and
{-lu'} on occasion. He's never used the word once in the 14 years since TKD
was first published in 1985. This is rather a case of Okrand forgetting or
ignoring the fact that {net} exists at all. Either of which leads me to
suspect that {net} was never intended to be a part of Klingon grammar, but
simply a one-off backfit for yet another Valkris-ism. This no doubt explains
his comment in TKD (p. 65f.):
{net} is used only under special circumstances, but {'e'} is common...
If we want to fit this into our understanding of why Klingons say the things
they do, perhaps it's best to consider {net} -- together with {jaw}, {HISlaH}
and {rIntaH} -- as features of whatever dialect Valkris spoke. Wasn't she
identified in the novelization as Rumaiy (or was it Kumburanya?), which would
certainly explain her troubles with {ta' Hol}.
'Tis a pity, for {net Sov} is a useful little phrase. Not that one can't mix
dialects for dramatic effect, n'est-ce pas?
: Remember, Okrand is no expert Klingon speaker!
net Sov. 'a po' ghaH matlh'e'! <g>
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons