tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Oct 22 14:59:26 2002
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RE: Tao Te Ching; Chp. 9
'ISqu' wrote:
>>I was just pointing out that they don't completely match eachother.
>>Both sentences are grammatical; and either sentence can be changed
>>to >match the other (if you want).
>
>>lot yIghuH - beware of a catastrophe
>>yIghuH - beware
Note that {ghuH} is not glossed "beware", but "prepare for, be alerted
to". English "beware" (i.e. "be wary of") contains an assumption of
something bad happening, which is absent in the Klingon. In fact, the
first example below - {may' yIghuH!} ST3 - is something good: Klingons
revel in and look forward to battle, they don't dread {Haj} it.Note, too,
that the homophonous noun {ghuH} merely means an "alert".
>Is it really OK to use ghuH without an explicit object?
We've never seen an example without an object:
{ghuH} "prepare for, be alerted to"
may' yIghuH!
Battle Alert! ST3
(lit. "Prepare for battle!")
tlhIngan quv DatIchDI' Seng yIghuH
When you insult a Klingon's honor, prepare for trouble. TKW
{ghuHmoH} "alert, warn"
ropyaH yIghuHmoH
[Alert sick bay! (untranslated)] ST6
Heghpu'bogh latlhpu' ghuHmoH bey. ghoS tlhIngan SuvwI' maq.
This yell...serves to warn the other dead that a Klingon warrior
is coming. S31
Since the prepositions "for" and "to" are included in Okrand's gloss for
{ghuH}, I would assume that, without context, {yIghuH} would tend to be
understood as "Prepare for it! Be alerted to it!" with a Klingon wondering,
"Prepare for what?"
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons