tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Oct 04 08:09:17 2000
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Re: Dangerous pun?
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: Re: Dangerous pun?
- Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 11:08:43 EDT
ghItlh Qov:
(Stupid AOL ate your message before I'd finished reading it, so I can't reply in detail to your post.)
I disagree with you on several points:
1. I know {tuq} is also defined as "tribe", but in practice it's main meaning has become "house". In fact, {tuqnIgh} is defined as "member of a _house_" in HQ, nothing about "tribe". Besides, just because it also means "tribe" doesn't change that it also means "house".
2. It is true that, strictly speaking, {gh} is not the same sound as /g/, but, for the average fan of Klingon, they are indistinguishable in use.
3. It doesn't matter that {nIgh} is not intentionally part of the N-word. The mere sound coincidence is problem enough. Perception is reality; it doesn't matter if MO didn't intend to cause offense (and I firmly believe he did not). The aide to the Mayor of Washington, D.C. was fired last year for using the word "niggardly" to describe Federal support for his programs. The statement made no reference to blacks, and the word isn't etymologically connected to the N-word or even spelled like it, but offense was taken, and he paid the price.
4. It's true we've never negotiated with MO about words before, but we've never had a word quite like this one before, either. As you point out, this is a term of honor. It's likely that KAG groups all over will want to begin using this word. Some members of those groups are black. If I were black and a KAG member, I'd hate to be in the position of being confronted with this
word on a regular basis.
It's been my experience that non-U.S. Americans don't really get the nuances of U.S. American racial politics. As a thought experiment, to see if you can get an idea of the kind of offense I think this word can cause, imagine that MO's next group of "Maltz words" includes the terms {qa'nuq} 'a minor appendage to a more important object', {natsIy'} 'the ideal form of government', and {say'tlhon} 'a final solution to a nagging problem'. Would it matter that he didn't do it on purpose?
I realize that this is a very U.S.A.-centric concern, but, let's face it, most of the fans of Star Trek and of Klingon are U.S. Americans. If {tuqnIgh} meant something offensive in Basque, I probably wouldn't care. 8+)
At any rate, it's not really my call. I've pointed out what I see as a potential problem. Now it's up to Lawrence (I guess) to decide if it's worth passing on to MO, and up to MO to decide if he wants to do anything about it. In any case, I abide by their decisions.
-- ter'eS
http://www.geocities.com/teresh_2000
http://www.geocities.com/weseb_2000