tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Oct 14 12:18:11 2003

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Re: Klingon WOTD: maqoch (n)

Steven Boozer ([email protected]) [KLI Member] 


> > This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Tuesday, October 14, 2003.
> > Klingon word:   maqoch
> > Part of Speech: noun
> > Definition:     buddy, pal
> >
> > Additional Notes:
> > KGT.  Close male friend of a male.  See also {chaj}.

Discussed in KGT (pp. 202-203):

    "The word {maqoch}, sometimes translated as 'buddy' or 'pal', is used 
most often by a male addressing another male who is a good friend, as in 
{maqoch 'Iw HIq yItlhutlh} ('Pal, drink the bloodwine'). When used in such 
a context, it signifies genuine companionship. If, however, it is used by 
someone who is definitely not a good friend, such as a member of a house 
with which one has been feuding, it is considered offensive. Furthermore, 
if used by a casual acquaintance, it may be taken as a sign of aggression; 
Klingons are generally apprehensive about those showing too much 
friendship. A Klingon female would address someone as {maqoch} only if she 
intended to insult him or her. A Klingon male with any honor at all would 
never address a female as {maqoch}. The word {maqoch} itself may derive 
from {may' qoch} (literally, 'battle partner'), so perhaps it originally 
meant something like 'war buddy'.
    "There is a word that Klingon females use in a pattern paralleling the 
males' use of {maqoch}. This word is {chaj}, a close female friend of a 
female. As with {maqoch}, it is used only in addressing a true friend. If 
uttered by a female adversary, it is insulting; if uttered by a casual 
acquaintance it is presumptuous. A male Klingon would address a female 
Klingon as {chaj} only to offend her. If a male were to be addressed as 
{chaj}, by either a male or a female, he would consider his honor to be 
attacked and would react accordingly. It is not uncommon for a Klingon 
father to address his son as {maqoch} or for a Klingon mother to address 
her daughter as {chaj}. The reverse, however, is not true. That is, a son 
would never call his father {maqoch}, nor would a daughter address her 
mother as {chaj}. Because of the dangers inherent in using {maqoch} and 
{chaj} inappropriately, it is suggested that visitors be quite sure of the 
status of their relationships with individual Klingons before uttering or 
reacting to either of these words."

Cf. also {jup} "friend", {jupna'} "true friend" and {qoch} "partner".

...Paul wonders:
>Hmm.  Play on the English "My Coach"?

Really??  In what way is a coach your buddy?  IIRC my own relationship with 
coaches was always adversarial!  Maybe Okrand had better coaches than I 
did. <g>

I think Okrand might be making a bilingual pun: my {qoch} "my 
partner".  Also, partner is often used for "buddy, pal, mack" here in the 
States (especially in Hollywood westerns, where it's usually pronounced 
/pardner/).

In either case, Okrand's suggested derivation {may' qoch} - "battle 
partner" > "war buddy" - is actually pronounced "my {qoch}".

P.S.  Anyone care to speculate on possible puns WRT {chaj}?  We have 
{-chaj} "their", but I can't make anything of that.  No one has made any 
suggestions in the WiKi Klingon pun list which, for those who don't know, 
is located at

</wiki/index.php?Puns%20in%20the%20Vocabulary%20of%20tlhIngan%20Hol>www.kli.org/wiki/index.php?Puns%20in%20the%20Vocabulary%20of%20tlhIngan%20Hol 




-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons

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