tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri May 21 06:42:19 2004

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paghHu'/paghleS

MorphemeAddict ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol taghwI']

Klingon has a series of paired deictic time words which designate the time of 
an event relative to the time of speech.  For example, {Hu'} means 'days ago' 
and {leS} means 'days from now'.  They are usually preceded by a number 
indicating how many days in the past or future the event occurred.  Thus {wa'Hu'} 
means 'one day ago', or 'yesterday', {cha'Hu'} means 'two days ago', or 'the 
day before yesterday', {wa'leS} means 'one day from now', or 'tomorrow', and 
{cha'leS} means 'two days from now', or 'the day after tomorrow'.  None of this 
is new.  In fact, these very words are as old as Klingon itself, meaning they 
are found in the first edition of TKD.
 
What is not in TKD, or anywhere else, as far as I can determine, is what 
{Hu'} and {leS} mean when used with {pagh} ('zero').  Both {paghHu'}, literally 
'zero days ago', and {paghleS}, 'zero days from now', both seem to mean 'today'. 
 But Klingon already has two distinct ways of saying 'today', viz. {DaHjaj} 
and {jajvam}.  So even if the forms with {pagh} did mean 'today', they would be 
superfluous.  
 
I submit that both these words have useful and distinct meanings.
 
While both of these words basically do mean 'today', each adds its own 
essential nuance. Since {Hu'} indicates a past time, and {leS} indicates a future 
time, {paghHu'} means 'earlier today', and {paghleS} means 'later today'.  
 
E.g., paghHu' jIHu'pu', 'ej DaH jIvumtaH, 'ej paghleS jIleStaH.
Earlier today I got up, now I'm working, and later today I'll rest.
 
Similarly, any of the other pairs of temporal deictic nouns may be used with 
{pagh} with the same added nuance of earlier or later in the indicated time 
period.  These pairs are: wen/waQ (month), ben/nem (year), and ret/pIq (general 
time period).  Thus 'later this month' is {paghwaQ} and 'earlier this year' is 
{paghben}.
These forms are concise and specific, conforming in particular to the Klingon 
ideals of Accuracy and Straightforwardness.

lay'tel SIvten

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