tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Jul 01 08:04:07 2000
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Re: obtuse question
jatlh veS joH:
> >>But while we're on the topic of past marriages, what is a widows husband
> >>called?
>
jatlh ghunchu'wI':
> >ghaHvaD lom vIpong jIH.
jatlh De'vID:
> Question: Should a /lom/ be referred to using /ghaH/ or
> /'oH/? If it used to be capable of using language, it
> certainly ain't now.
Normally, a /lom/ is a thing incapable of using language. We know that
Klingons consider the corpse to be an empty shell; the spirit has departed.
Empty shells aren't capable of using language.
However, it wouldn't be a funny joke if he said /'oHvaD lom vIpong jIH/.
This sentence identifies /'oH/ before /lom/, and it's the word /lom/ which
is really the stinger of the joke. Using /'oH/ before it ruins the joke,
because it comes first, giving a warning. Using /ghaH/ to refer to the
/loDnal/ (which is noun representing something which is capable of using
language) instead of the /lom/ keeps the joke working.
SuStel
Stardate 500.0