tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 21 11:26:46 2002
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Re: KBLC: tlhingan <limerick>
ghel tulwI':
> >> quv'eghmoH quvmoHbe'lu',
> >
> > doesn't this have to be "quvmoH'egh"? :)
jang DloraH:
>-'egh is a type 1, -moH is a type 4.
Funny he should ask. Okrand discussed this very verb on st.klingon (11/97):
Maltz reports having heard both {quv'eghmoH} "he/she honors him/herself",
which follows the expected order (verb-Type 1-Type 4: {quv} "be honored",
{-'egh} "oneself", {-moH} "cause") as well as the weird {quvmoH'egh}
"he/she honors him/herself", in which the Type 1 suffix {-'egh} "oneself"
follows the Type 4 suffix {-moH} "cause", an impossible formation unless
the speaker is considering the verb to be {quvmoH} "honor" and not {quv}
"be honored". Speakers who do this seem to be aware that they are breaking
the rules, so they are doing it for rhetorical effect. (It has the same
sort of feeling, perhaps, as if someone were to say in English "Don't
cellular phone me this afternoon" or "I've been postnasal dripping all
morning" or "It's lightninging and thundering outside" or, to follow the
Klingon example, "He/she self-honors".)
BTW, phrases with this type of intentional breaking of the rules - called
by some "nonce expressions" in English - are called {mu'mey ru'} by Klingon
grammarians:
Sometimes words or phrases are coined for a specific occasion, intentionally
violating grammatical rules in order to have an impact. Usually these are
never heard again, though some gain currency and might as well be classified
as slang. Klingon grammarians call such forms {mu'mey ru'} ("temporary
words").
Sometimes, {mu'mey ru'} fill a void--that is, give voice to an idea for
which
there is no standard (or even slang) expression; sometimes, like slang, they
are just more emphatic ways of expressing an idea. A common way to
create these
constructions is to bend the grammatical rules somewhat, violating the
norm in
a way that is so obvious that there is no question that it is being done
intentionally. To do this is expressed in Klingon as {pabHa'}
("misfollow [the
rules]", "follow [the rules] wrongly)". (KGT p.176)
However, be aware that
Some speakers of Klingon never use such nonconformist constructions.
Some use
a few from a stock set. Others seem to be somewhat creative. Among Klingons,
there is a fine line between creative use of the language and silliness,
however, and Klingons are rather intolerant of the latter. Accordingly, the
visitor to a Klingon planet is advised to avoid making such constructions
until he or she is very well versed in Klingon culture. (KGT p.180)
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons