tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 10 08:21:49 2005
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Re: Sa'HutwIj [HI/yI]chop
QeS lagh wrote:
>> Not quite. {Sa'HutwIj HIchop} is grammatical, but it doesn't mean "bite my
>> bottom". There would be a direct object {Sa'Hut} and an indirect object
>> {jIHvaD}.
jang Paul:
There is no indirect object in the English "Bite my bottom".
QeS lagh:
>> 'e' vISovchu'. But there *is* an indirect object in the Klingon phrase
>> {Sa'HutwIj HIchop}, which is why {Sa'HutwIj HIchop} does not mean only
"bite
>> my bottom".
Paul:
I gotcha. I misunderstood what your point was. I completely agree with
everything else.
Moving the discussion from the grammatical to the cultural...
Warning: A Klingon may not understand "Bite me" or "Bite my bottom" as an
insult, but rather as a romantic come-on. We know that Klingon males
initiate courtship by biting the female (VGR "Someone to Watch Over
Me"). And we also have this phrase from Okrand:
HIchop, bang.
Give us a kiss, love. (Radio Times)
Ah, the dangers of literal translation!
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons