tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 16 07:35:34 2005
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Re: Klingon WOTD: tay (verb)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Wednesday, November 16, 2005.
>
>Klingon word: tay
>Part of Speech: verb
>Definition: be civilized
Never used in a sentence.
Cf. also {taymoH} "civilize" and {tayqeq} "civilization"
Qov once made an insightful observation here on the List:
Apparently while our definition of maturity is cities ("CIVilization")
theirs is ritual ({nentay} [Rite of Ascension], {Heghtay} [Death
Ritual], {muvtay} [initiation]).
{tay} "be civilized" may have derived from the simpler concept {tay'} "be
together, be united".
Related verbs include {SeQ} "be formal, ritualistic, ceremonial"; {Hach}
"be developed (e.g. a civilization)" and {'Itlh} "be advanced, highly
developed".
>Homonyms:
> tay (noun) - ceremony, rite, ritual
While the conventional phrases used in some rituals are uttered in
modern Klingon (such as those used in the Rite of Ascension, a
ceremony symbolizing a young Klingon's attainment of a certain
spiritual level), those used in a great many others are in a form
of {no' Hol} (such as those associated with the {bIreqtal} [brek'tal],
the ceremony in which the killer of the leader of a Klingon house
marries the widow and thereby becomes the head of the house himself).
In these cases, the phrases must be studied and memorized by the
participants, then repeated back accurately. Improvising or para-
phrasing is entirely inappropriate. Depending on when the phrases for
the ritual originated, the words and grammatical constructions may
be somewhat like or very different from those of modern Klingon.
[KGT 11]
Younger Klingons, while accepting their heritage and observing the
ancient rites, see some aspects of their elders' behavior and beliefs
as, if not obsolete, then just old-fashioned. [KGT 133]
There's a whole section on ceremonies and rituals at
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/documentaries/article/3854.html
In addition to those mentioned by Qov, other rituals include {chontay}
"ritual hunt", {qutluch tay} Kut'luch Ceremony and the {ruStay} R'uustai
(bonding ritual). There are of course many, many more rituals the names of
which are not compounded with {tay}.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons