tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 12 23:54:55 2001

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Re: Klingon WOTD: ghel (v)



If it matters, during the conversation around my one interview with Okrand, it 
was pretty clear that his intent was for the split in meaning between ghel and 
tlhob to be the same as the difference between jatlh and ja'. jatlh = ghel, ja' 
= tlhob.

Unfortunately, before he invented {ghel}, he had already used {tlhob} in the 
example voragh quotes below. He had forgotten that and was more than a little 
discontent when I brought it up.

Rather than say that the earlier example predated the existance of the word 
{ghel}, so NOW we should change the usage, he leaned toward accepting his 
earlier usage as right (even though he didn't like that), just because, well, 
it's canon, after all.

So, if you want to use these words in the spirit in which they were created, 
you can use {ghel} as the interrogatory equivalent of {jatlh}, and {tlhob} as 
the interrogative equivalent of {ja'}. That difference is that the direct 
object of {jatlh} and {ghel} is the sentence, language, question or unit of 
speech, while the direct object of {ja'} and {tlhob} is the person being 
addressed or querried.

If, however, you prefer to accept Okrand's begrudging judgement on this, you 
can use {tlhob} pretty much anytime and {ghel} has no really clear usage. Just 
interpret the gloss as best you can.

[Note: I'm replying to this with an interface I've never used before -- web 
mail. If it comes out strange, well, I'll work on straightening that out.]

charghwI'

> : Klingon word:   ghel
> : Part of Speech: verb
> : Definition:     ask (a question)
> : 
> : Okrand, HolQeD 7:4: What I wanted to do with {tlhob} and {ghel} is to 
> : distinguish between two different meanings for the English verb "ask."  
> : There are two "ask's."  There's the "ask" where you ask a question and 
> : there's "ask" where you make a request.  I wanted it to be two different 
> : verbs, though apparently there are times when the "request" verb is used 
> : to ask a question as well [PK: lutlhob naDevvo' vaS'a'Daq majaHlaH'a'?] So 
> : maybe the way it works is that {ghel} can ask a question and only as a 
> : question and the other one can mean that and is also use [sic] to request 
> : or plead or something like that.
> 
> {ghel} has never been used by Okrand in a sentence.  To summarize:
> 
>   {tlhob} "ask, request, ask, plead"
>   {ghel}  "ask (a question)"
> 
> and don't forget:
> 
>   {yu'}   "question, interrogate"
> 
> Variations of {tlhob} include:
> 
>   {poQ}   "demand, require"
>   {qap}   "insist"
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Voragh                       
> Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
> 




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