tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 11 12:23:44 2002
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Re: Klingon WOTD: noH (n)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Saturday, November 9, 2002.
>
>Klingon word: noH
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition: war
>
>Additional Notes:
>TKD Addendum. KGT p. 46-47 adds "an individual or specific war."
>See also {veS}.
As used in canon:
noH ghoblu'DI' yay quv law' Hoch quv puS
In war there is nothing more honorable than victory. TKW
noH QapmeH wo' Qaw'lu'chugh yay chavbe'lu'
"Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory" TKW
Here's Okrand's discussion of {noH} in KGT (p.46-47):
There are two nouns traditionally translated as "war": {veS} and {noH}.
The first, {veS}, is "war" in the sense of "warfare", the concept or
idea of war; {noH}, on the other hand, is used for an individual or
specific war. When Azetbur, leader of the Klingon High Council at the
time of the first negotiations for peace with the Federation, expressed
concern that "war is obsolete," she said, "{notlh veS}", not "{notlh
noH}"; she felt the idea or nature of warfare, not a specific war, was
obsolete... In short, the nouns {veS} (war, warfare) and {vIq} (combat)
and the verb {Qoj} ("wage war") all are used to refer to the ideas of
warfare, combat, and making war, while the nouns {noH} (war) and may'
(battle) and the verbs {ghob} (make war, do battle) and {Suv} (fight)
are used when referring to specific, concrete instances of war, battle,
and fighting. Thus it is possible to say {noH ghob} or {noH Suv", both
meaning "He/she fights a war," ... but it is not normally acceptable to
say {veS ghob} ("He/she fights a warfare").
For those interested, here are the canon examples of {veS}:
notlh veS...'a tugh manotlhchoH je maH.
War is obsolete...as we are in danger of becoming. ST6
taghbej mu'qaD veS.
Curse-warfare has definitely begun. PK
--
Voragh "All the meaning is in the context."
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons (Ilya Kabakov, Russian artist)