tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Dec 28 07:33:46 2005
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Re: {cha'naS} pun?
Voragh:
> >And then there are those intriguing birds formed with what appears to be
> >{cha'} "two" from HolQeD 10.4: [...]
> >(BTW, has anybody figured out the pun for {cha'naS}?}
I should have checked myself, but someone suggested "this is a real
longshot, but the final syllable might be an acronym of "National Audubon
Society" on the "Puns in the Vocabulary of tlhIngan Hol" page at the
Klingon Wiki:
/wiki/index.php?Puns%20in%20the%20Vocabulary%20of%20tlhIngan%20Hol
Stephen Carter:
>Is Okrand a fan of Jorge Luis Borges or Yemeni mythology?
>Knowing the feeding habits of the bat-winged nasnas of Borneo might
>provide a clue, if anyone can determine what they are -- I didn't
>have much luck.
>
>http://www.hum.au.dk/romansk/borges/vakalo/zf/html/body_the_nasnas.html
"Among the monstrous creatures of the Temptation is the Nasnas,
which "has only one eye, one cheek, one hand, one leg, half a
torso and half a heart."
This doesn't seem to fit the description of the {cha'naS} as "a small bird
which digs up bugs to eat" (HQ 10.4).
Hmm... "bugs to eat". Could this be pun number two {cha'} on the Yiddish
*nosh* "to snack, eat between meals, nibble at tidbits"? Okrand's already
given us the verb {noS} in KGT:
"The verb noS ("eat in small mouthfuls, nibble"), unless
applied to small animals or very young children, is always
used derogatorily." (KGT 100)
Okay, so it's a stretch!
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons