tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri May 21 07:58:42 2004
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RE: paghHu'/paghleS
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: RE: paghHu'/paghleS
- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 10:57:51 -0400
ghItlh lay'tel SIvten:
>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'.
[snip]
>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.
[snip]
>These forms are concise and specific, conforming in particular to the >Klingon ideals of Accuracy and Straightforwardness.
Hmm...
{paghHu' rIn vIneH!}
"I want it done yesterday!" (idio.)
"I want it finished zero days ago." (lit.)
-quljIb