tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jul 25 14:26:23 2005
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: time passes
juDmoS:
> > There is one other little thing...I've been unable to
> > come up with a verb for "waste"...as in, "All we did
> > by chasing those sensor ghosts was waste precious
> > fuel, you idiot!" Any ideas?
Well, there's the verb {lo'Ha'} "waste" (lit. "misuse") used in a nearly
identical sense:
HoS lI' Dalo'Ha'chu'
You are a total waste of good energy! PK
{lI'} "be useful" vs. {lo'laH} "be valuable".
ngabwI':
>I suggest the verb {natlh} "to expend, drain". It also means "to be
>disgusting", so this verb, to me at least, is "tainted" by this slang
>meaning, giving a slight negative connotation to any use of the verb.
>Seems a good fit for "to waste", qar'a'?
Not bad, although by itself {natlh} has no inherent negative connotations
and means just "use up, consume, expend, drain (power)":
Literally meaning "consume, use up, expend", {natlh} is normally
applied to energy, fuel, supplies, and the like and is used in
phrases such as {nIn Hoch natlhlu'pu'} ("All the fuel has been
consumed"), with {nIn Hoch} ("all the fuel") functioning as the
object of the verb {natlhlu'pu'} ("someone/something has consumed
it"). [KGT 155]
HoS law'qu' natlhmo' So'wI'
Due to the tremendous energy drain of a cloaking device... S33
FYI: {natlh} "be reprehensible, be disgusting, be contemptible, be
shameful, be objectionable" is an intransitive slang verb:
The slang term {natlh} is a frequently heard expression of disapproval
or disgust, the speaker's comment on an event, another person, or a
situation. Though by no means a curse and having no overtones of vul-
garity, it is nonetheless a rather forceful term, used to express a
strong emotion ... IN ITS SLANG USAGE, HOWEVER, THE VERB NEVER HAS AN
OBJECT AND THE SUBJECT IS WHAT IS BEING DISPARAGED: {natlh 'Iw HIq}
("The bloodwine is disgusting"; literally, "the bloodwine consumes");
{natlh romuluSnganpu'} ("Romulans are objectionable"; literally "Romu-
lans consume"); {bInatlh} ("You are contemptible" literally, "You
consume"). Often, the word is used with no overt subject, as if an
exclamation: {natlh} ("It is objectionable," or "That is shameful";
literally, "It consumes"). [KGT 155]
Note the highlighted text. If {natlh} is used as a transitive verb - e.g.
{nIn lo'laH wInatlhpu' jay'} "we've wasted precious fuel, dammit!" - I'm
not sure that the slang meaning would immediately occur to a Klingon.
Also consider {ghong} "abuse", {loj} "be all gone" and {tlhuch} "exhaust"
(i.e. emit waste products).
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons