tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jul 11 11:45:09 2002

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Re: 'or



peHruS asks:

>I have been using {chIj} for drive [a car].  Is {'or} a better word for this
>concept?  Does {chIj} cover more of the mapping out of {jeymey}?

{chIj} "navigate" is better suited to the person sitting in the passenger 
seat with the map, telling the driver when to turn.  Note that {chIjwI'} 
"navigator" and {DeghwI'} "helsman" are - or can be - two different jobs on 
a starship.  (They certainly are on the US Navy ships I served on; helsmen 
are enlisted men, the ship's navigator is an officer.)  I think the verb 
you want is {raQ} "manipulate by hand, handle": i.e. you manipulate the 
controls of the car.  Okrand discusses this word in KGT (p.79):

"The closest to a general term in this realm may be the verb {raQ}, which 
means 'manipulate by hand, handle'. It can be applied to carving, 
sculpting, metalworking, and the like but is really much less specific, 
referring to activities that involve having some control over some object. 
For example, in addition to saying {betleH yan} ('He/she wields a 
bat'leth'), one could say {betleH raQ} ('He/she controls a bat'leth'). By 
extension, the term {raQ} is also used when referring to controlling a 
space vessel 'manually' (that is, when the controls are manipulated 
directly by a person rather than a computer): {Duj raQ} ('He/she controls 
the ship manually')."

N.B. this word appears to be spelled {ruQ} "control manually (by hand)" in 
TKD.

{'or} "operate (an aircraft)" doesn't work for ground vehicles as we are 
told that it is used with aircraft and other atmosphere-capable craft in 
the new HolQeD (11.2):

"Maltz thought that the best word for 'operate (an aircraft)' was {'or} - 
so the person who does this would be the {'orwI'}, 'one who operates (an 
aircraft)'. In general, {'or} would not be used to refer to the activities 
of the captain of a spacecraft, or even those of its helmsman, but Maltz 
said it could be used for the controlling of a shuttlecraft. He was 
comfortable translating {'or} as 'pilot' (the verb) and {'orwI'} as 'pilot' 
(the noun)."

BTW, this now suggests that the verb {puv} "fly" is probably intransitive.

   puv Qov lupDujHom
   Qov's shuttlecraft flies/is flying

vs.

   lupDujHom 'or Qov
   Qov flies (pilots) the shuttlecraft.

We have one example of {puv}, from SkyBox S33:

   puvtaHbogh Duj ngabmoHlaw' So'wI'
   [cloaking device] allowing the ship to fly in a state of practical
   invisibility.

though {lupDujHom puvmoH Qov} "Qov causes the shuttlecraft to fly" is 
certainly possible.

BTW, we also have a more general word for "control" {SeH}:

   nuSeHbej
   He is certainly controlling us. TKD

   nuSeHlaw'
   He seems to be controlling us. I think he's controlling us. TKD

   DaSeHDI'
   as soon as you control it. TKD

   vISeHmeH Hoch nuHmey Qay!
   [Transfer] All weapons to my control. ST5 (Clipped?)

   Hoch SeH
   All rights reserved. (SkyBox Copyright)

{SeH} also appears as an element in {SeHlaw} "control panel, console", 
{SeHwI'} "controller" (device), {SeHwI' pat} "control system", {lolSeHcha} 
"attitude-control thrusters" and {yo'SeH}  "command" (i.e. [fleet] command 
center? in Okrand's ST5 notes).



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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