tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Oct 30 15:39:02 2002
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Re: {tIq} and {run}
'ISqu' asks:
>Can {tIq} and {run} be regarded as a pair of antonyms?
Good question: What is the opposite of {run}?
{tIq} "be long, be lengthy, be extended (of an object)" shows up in
nISwI' HIch motlh HoS Hal qengwI' naQ tIq je lurarlu'bogh 'oH
tlhIngan nISwI' beH'e'
The Klingon disruptor rifle is a standard hand held disruptor, attached
to an extended power supply stock. S14
and appears as an element in {bIQtIq} "river" (literally "long water") and
{tajtIq} "a knife with a particularly long blade that is used almost as if
it were a sword" (KGT 62). It's antonym is actually given in the KGT
glossary: {tIqHa'} "be short (in length for an object)".
A similar pair of words is {jen} "be high" and {'eS} "be low". We know
they're antonyms because of the rhetorical law'/puS variation in KGT (p.179):
tlhIngan yoH jen verengan yoH 'eS
The Klingon is braver than the Ferengi.
{run} "be short (in stature)", however, is the problem. It shows up in the
derived noun {runwI'} "one who is short" (KGT 152) and {runpI'} "teapot",
which is an English joke, deriving from the nursery rhyme "I'm a little
teapot, short {run} and stout {pI'}"!
But, "short (in stature)" is not the same as "short (in length)". I think
it's probably best to use *{runHa'} for "be tall (in stature)" until we are
told otherwise.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons