tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jan 06 21:56:55 2000

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De'wI' (was Re: KLBC: A small introduction of me.)



ja' Paul Reinerfelt <[email protected]>:
>By the way, why is "computer" translated
>"my data"?

{De'wI'} is not "my data" -- that would be {De'wIj}, since data is not a
being capable of speech.

>I would have been much less
>surprised if it had been something like "one
>who computes". (maybe {SImwI'}, "one who
>calculates"?)

It's possible that there used to be a verb {De'} meaning something like
"process information", and that's where the Klingon word for "computer"
comes from.  For the most part, the "computing" role of a modern computer
is less important than the "data processing" role; we just use the term
that was applied to their original purpose.  Whatever its origin, the
Klingon word {De'wI'} is just a word meaning "computer".

Similarly, the noun {DeghwI'} "helsmman" implies a verb {Degh} "steer",
but that verb doesn't actually exist either.  [{Degh} as a verb is slang
for "improvise, act without a plan".]  {chamwI'} "technician" doesn't
have a corresponding verb {cham}, even though it looks like it started
out from one.  Many other Klingon words *look* like they're made up of
other parts, but the vocabulary is just irregular enough to make taking
words apart a generally unproductive exercise.

-- ghunchu'wI' 'utlh




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