tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jul 19 10:04:46 2002
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Re: HuchQeD
Quvar wrote:
>Hol yejHaD mu'mey chu' tetlhDaq jIlaD:
>
>"HuchQeD (n) economics [This is slang with no non-slang counterpart] [KGT
>p148]"
>
>mu' ghoQ 'oH 'e' jatlh 'Iv?? KGT vIlaDDI' vIHarchoHbe'. pa' ghItlhlu':
>
>"There is no slang counterpart [for chelwI'], though HuchQeD (lit. money
>science) is often used for "economics"".
KGT (p.148) actually reads:
{chelwI'} "someone who deals in finances, accounting, etc."
"Mildly derogatory in its slang usage, this word literally means 'adder,
one who adds'. There is no known non-slang counterpart, though {HuchQeD}
(literally, 'money science') is often used for 'economics'."
>loQ jImIS.
>
>SKI: HuchQeD, slang or not?
As I read it, {HuchQeD} may not be slang {mu'mey ghoQ} per se. It sounds
like {HuchQeD} "is often used" because there is no standard word available.
One of the features of slang, as opposed to say colloquialisms, jargon or
technical terms, is that it changes fairly rapidly. In fact, Okrand tells
us that {mu'mey ghoQ} (lit. "fresh words") are "mostly used by younger
Klingons". The young refer to standard Klingon as {mu'mey Doy'} "tired
words", referring to older Klingons' tired, boring language. (Cf. KGT p.35.)
I bet {HuchQeD} is an example of what Okrand calls {mu'mey ru'} "temporary
words, made-up words" which has "gained currency" or has slipped into
colloquial, if not formal, Klingon:
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." (KGT p.176)
Some speakers of Klingon never use such nonconformist constructions.
Some use
a few from a stock set." (KGT p.180)
N.B. "Sometimes, {mu'mey ru'} fill a void--that is, give voice to an idea
for which there is no standard (or even slang) expression."
Okrand may be well be hinting that that Klingons don't have an extensive
vocabulary to deal with economic and financial matters. We know from DS9
"House of Quark", for example, that {chelwI'pu'} are viewed with contempt
by the ruling warrior caste.
OTOH, science officer Maltz may just be financially illiterate and doesn't
know these words.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons