tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 29 09:05:30 2000

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Re: Klingon WOTD: Dum (v)



| Klingon word:   Dum
| Part of Speech: verb
| Definition:     nap
 
quljIb:
: vIghro Dum = "cat nap"?
 
ghunchu'wI':
> No.  {Dum} is a verb. You've misused it as if it wre a noun.  [You also
> misspelled {vIghro'}, but that's trivial compared to the real gaffe.]
 
: qatlho'.  {Dum; rur vIghro'} "He/she naps; like a cat."

Not quite.  This means "He/she naps; the cat resembles him/her".  Don't forget
OVS word order.  {vIghro'} must be the object of {rur}: {vIghro' rur} "He/she
resembles a cat".

Also, in these "rur" similes the first verb is always a quality (or "stative
verb"): {Q; A rur} where Q is a quality and A is a noun.  E.g. {tam; Hew rur}
"quiet as a statue".  (See the extensive list on KGT p. 127ff.)  {nap} is an
action verb, not a quality.

If you want to translate "He/she's taking a cat nap," try:

  nap 'ej vIghro' rur.
  She naps and she resembles a cat.

or

  naptaHvIS vIghro' rur.
  While he naps, he resembles a cat.
  When napping, he resembles a cat.



-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons


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