tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Sep 10 14:43:22 2002
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Re: Klingon WOTD: ngeQ (v)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Tuesday, September 10, 2002.
>
>Klingon word: ngeQ
>Part of Speech: verb
>Definition: bump into, run into, collide with
>Additional Notes: KGT.
See the discussion in KGT (p.157-58):
paw' ("butt heads")
This verb describes a very common habit among Klingon warriors,
particularly at festive occasions. Two Klingons stand close together,
facing each other, and, with great joviality, slam their foreheads
together. The word literally means "collide" and is usually (though
hardly exclusively) heard when referring to vehicles. In both its
literal and slang usages, {paw'} takes a plural subject: {paw'
tlhIngan SuvwI'pu'} ("The Klingon warriors butt heads"; literally,
"The Klingon warriors collide"); {paw' lupDujHommey} ("The
shuttlecraft collide"). To refer to a something in motion colliding
with something stationary, a different verb, {ngeQ} ("bump into,
collide with") is used, as in {raS ngeQ tera'ngan} ("The Terran
bumps into the table"). When the subject of {paw'} is persons, the
most common interpretation of the verb is the slang one--that is,
"butt heads." Thus, if one were to say {paw' tera'nganpu'} ("The
Terrans collide"), this would probably be taken to mean that the
Terrans butt heads, as unlikely as the image might be. When the
subject of {paw'} is anything other than persons, the most likely
interpretation is the nonslang one, "collide." If one wanted to say
that two persons collide but not imply that they butt heads, the verb
{ngeQ} would probably be used along with the suffix {-chuq} ("each
other") as in {ngeQchuq tera'nganpu'} ("The Terrans collide with
each other"). There is no simple nonslang verb for "butt heads".
Cf. also the problematic sentence from "Conversational Klingon":
qIp'egh nachDu'chaj tlhIngan SuvwI'pu'.
Klingon warriors are butting heads.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons