tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 11 07:22:33 2004

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Re: puvlI'bogh (was Re: nughI')

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

Quvar:
> >Next question the comes to my mind: is that verb a transitive one? In
> >German one can "fly an airplane"...

QeS lagh:
>No, I don't think {puv} is transitive (at least on the evidence we have). We
>have the separate verb {'or} for "to fly (a craft)", and {puvmoH} would
>probably be as close as you could get with the root {puv}: {Duj vIpuvmoH} "I
>cause the ship to fly".

Now that we know of the verb {'or}, this *might* be understood as "launch 
the ship" or even "get the ship ready to fly" (e.g. said by an engineer or 
mechanic).  Not that it's wrong to use {puv} "fly} when speaking of 
{Dujmey}.  Here's our only example of {puv} in canon:

   puvtaHbogh Duj ngabmoHlaw' So'wI'
   [cloaking device] allowing the ship to fly in a state of practical
   invisibility. S33

{puvtaHbogh Duj} "a (continuously) flying ship", implying {puv Duj} "the 
ship flies" (intransitive).

Just for review, Okrand on {'or}:

   Maltz thought that the best word for "operate (an aircraft)" was {'or}
   - so the person who does this would be the {'orwI'}, "one who operates
   (an aircraft)". In general, {'or} would not be used to refer to the
   activities of the captain of a spacecraft, or even those of its helmsman,
   but Maltz said it could be used for the controlling of a shuttlecraft.
   He was comfortable translating {'or} as "pilot" (the verb) and {'orwI'}
   as "pilot" (the noun).  [HQ 11.2]

And finally, we also have another word to refer to the physical act of 
piloting (i.e. pushing buttons, manipulating a joystick, etc.):

   By extension, the term {raQ} is also used when referring to controlling
   a space vessel "manually" (that is, when the controls are manipulated
   directly by a person rather than a computer): {Duj raQ} ("He/she controls
   the ship manually").  [KGT 79]



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons

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