tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun May 13 06:47:24 2001
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The REAL Armpit Story (a movie title that'll never sell)
- From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
- Subject: The REAL Armpit Story (a movie title that'll never sell)
- Date: Sun, 13 May 2001 09:47:53 -0400
- References: <[email protected]>
From: "Will Martin" <[email protected]>
> Mark Shoulson came up with {'I'} as a joke that came back years later to
> bite him. Someone put up an argument similar to yours and he was arguing
> against it saying, "So, if we start making up our own words, how is
someone
> out there who buys a copy of TKD and learns the language supposed to know
> that the word {'I'} means 'armpit'?" It was improvised and he never
expected
> to see the word again. Over a year later, peHruS cited {'I'} as "armpit"
> saying he didn't remember the source except that he knew it came from
> Okrand. After a couple weeks of bickering over the word, ghunchu'wI' found
> the original reference in the archive and we all thought it was hilarious.
> We made this discovery just before a qep'a', so when Okrand showed up, we
> shared the joke with him. He laughed and then looked at us with a perfect
> dead-pan expression and said, "Well, you know there really is a word for
> 'armpit', don't you?" Gullibly, we all looked at him, slack jawed and
shook
> our heads "no" and asked what it was. He grinned and said, "{'I'}."
This is how the story is always repeated, but I don't think it's quite
right. It's right up to the part where "Okrand showed up." Mark was doing
most of the story-telling. The difference between the "official" story and
what really happened (I remember the exact scene very clearly, especially
since everyone else always repeats Mark's self-admittedly uncertain
rendition of it) is that while Okrand was listening, it was clear to me that
he wasn't QUITE getting the point of it. Mark was telling it rather
quickly, and was being interrupted by others. When Mark got to the "ha ha"
part, Okrand was still a little confused. Because he didn't have the
Klingon vocabulary memorized, he asked what IS the word for armpit? As a
joke, several of us (myself included) asked back, simultaneously, "Yeah,
what IS the word for armpit?!?" (this was a joke because there was a lot of
pressure at the qep'a' NOT to pressure Okrand for words, and here was a
perfect opportunity to good-naturedly and half-heartedly ask for one, not
really expecting an answer). When we asked this, understanding clicked in
Okrand's head: there WASN'T a word for "armpit," and that's what the story
had been about. He didn't say any of this, though. He simply gave us the
dead-pan look and said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world,
"/'I'/." Hysterics ensued.
Anyway, I think it's important to remember this scene correctly, because it
really is one of the classic moments of Klingon language history.
SuStel
Stardate 1365.0