RE: qepHom, qep, qep'a'

["Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen" <lawrence@kli.org>]

ghItlh Andrew:

>The way we use the words now is interesting. qep'a' refers to the original
>"big" conference, while "qepHom" is used contrastively, to differentiate
>something from a qep'a', and "qep" is the generic term to refer to qep'a'mey
>and qepHommey. At least that's how the terms are used on the KLI website.

When I began using the terms {qep'a'} and {qepHom} to refer to the various
KLI functions, I did so after reviewing the respective noun suffixes. My
conclusion:

{qep} is a meeting.
{qep'a'} is a conference.
{qepHom} is a gathering.

This still strikes me as a very reasonable and obvious application of
diminuation and agumentation. One could argue -- and I believe it would be
correct to do so -- that the suffixes are not simply about "size," but to
attribute the various connotations that have become associated with the
events (formality and ceremony to the {qep'a'}, informality and casualness
to the {qepHom}) to the suffixes themselves would be wrong.

Hmmm. Perhaps we need a nice article on the distinctions between
connotative and denotative meanings in Klingon for an upcoming issue of
HolQeD? Any takers?

Lawrence