tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jan 02 11:26:35 2003
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Re: Klingon WOTD: mI' (n)
pIl'o' vestai-GowRon wrote:
>Isn't the WOTD supposed to include homophones (or is that homonyms?)
If the word has been used in canon, I usually supplement Holtej's WOTD
entry with those examples. If I know of possible synonyms, antonyms or
other related words, I'll go ahead and post them. Occasionally, I've
alerted people to the existence of a homonym so they shouldn't be confused
if they see, for example, a noun taking the verbal affixes, but I usually
try to keep it focused on the actual WOTD.
>what about <mI'> as a verb for 'to dance' or 'to workout'
{mI'} is glossed as "dance, run in place, exercise, do calisthenics, do
martial arts movements" in KGT and Okrand discussed it on p.207:
Sometimes seemingly ordinary concepts cannot be expressed easily. For
example,
the Klingon verb {mI'} may be translated "dance", but it also means
"exercise,
do calisthenics, do martial arts movements." The central idea of {mI'}
is that
a physical activity is performed that results in no change, other than,
perhaps,
in the well-being of the person performing the action. Thus, it is wrong
to use
{mI'} for "run to a place", though it is quite appropriate to use it for
"run
in place". No term in Federation Standard means quite the same thing as
Klingon
{mI'}. By the same token, no word in Klingon means quite the same thing as
Federation Standard "dance". At many Klingon festivals, a popular group of
performers is called the {qul mI'wI'pu'}, usually translated as "fire
dancers."
Since what the performer is doing is properly designated by the verb
{mI'} but
not really accurately described by the translation dance, the visitor --
particularly one who learned the Klingon word only by its usual Federation
Standard translation -- is in for quite a surprise when the show begins.
Note that this has absolutely no relation to the noun {mI'} "number", but
feel free to add whatever you like to the thread.
--
Voragh "Damage control is easy. Reading
Klingon--that's
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons hard!" (Montgomery Scott to
Kirk, STIV)