tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Feb 05 10:39:00 2001
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RE: navwIj
DloraH:
> Yes, [jonwI'] is engineer, but when I first read this I saw [jon] (capture)
> with [-wI'] suffix and thought of something like "capturer", ie a bounty
> hunter. Hehe.
De'vID:
: Perhaps {jonwI'} -- which sounds similar -- works the same way.
: Perhaps science/technology is somehow already existent, and the
: scientist/engineer merely "captures" them.
: On the other hand, maybe it's historical. We know that the
: Hur'Iq invaded the Klingon home world. Maybe the first Klingon
: engineers literally captured their technology from the Hur'Iq
: (or from whoever).
Or a {jonwI'} is simply someone who maintains and operates the {jo'}
"machinery" or {jonta'} "engine", the propulsion and related systems. The
{jonpIn} "engineering officer" is, of course, the officer in charge of the
ship's {jonwI'pu'}. In English the meaning of engineer has expanded from that
of repairman *{tI'wI'} or mechanic to a type of scientist {tej} or inventor
*{'oghwI'}; we have, in fact, entire schools of engineering. There's no
evidence this has happened in Klingon. I suspect we'll find that {jonwI'} is
derived from an as yet unattested verb *{jon} "build/maintain/operate an
engine" and has nothing to do with {jon} "capture".
[Of course, the real life reason is more prosaic. charghwI'/SarrIS once
explained what happened during the filming of ST3: "It all links back to that
rewritten subtitle on the retake of 'I told you, "Target engines only!"' which
became 'I wanted prisoners'." This explains why {neH} "want" also means
"only".]
: If the context isn't clear, I suppose {cham jonwI'},
Unnecessary. {chamwI'} is "technician". What the difference is *in Klingon*
between a {chamwI'} and a {jonwI'} is unknown, as neither of these have
appeared in context.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons