tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jan 10 07:39:28 2006
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Klingon WOTD: way' (verb)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Sunday, January 8, 2006.
>
>Klingon word: way'
>Part of Speech: verb
>Definition: parry, deflect a lunge
>
>Additional Notes:
>KGT p. 59: There is an extensive vocabulary for the moves associated with
>[bat'leth] use. To thrust or lunge toward one's opponent, for example, is
>jop. To deflect a thrust--that is, to parry--is {way'}.
KGT (p. 59) continues:
When teaching someone to use the bat'leth, the tutor will shout out
movements--for example, {yIjop! yIway'}! ("Lunge! Defend!"). Generally
in such a situation, however, the tutor will used the shortened form
of the language known as Clipped Klingon and skip the imperative prefix
{yI-}, leaving only the bare verb: {jop! way'}! It is important to note
that the tutor is giving the student direct commands ("Lunge! Defend!"),
not shouting out the names of movements.
There's also an idiom {jop 'ej way'} "lunge and deflect":
This idiom, which means "have an argument", is based on movements asso-
ciated with the bat'leth. During the course of a bout, both parties,
among other things, alternately lunge ({jop}), that is, push the bat'leth
toward the opponent, and deflect ({way'}), or use the bat'leth to push
the oncoming one away. Each side, then, engages in both offensive and
defensive movements, and this alternation of roles is likened to a verbal
duel. In using the expression, the appropriate verbal affixes are attached;
for example, {wIjoppu' 'ej wIway'pu'} ("We have lunged and we have
deflected"
--that is, "We have had an argument"). If the two verbs are reversed ({way'
'ej jop} ["deflect and lunge"]), the idea of "have an argument" is not
present, though the phrase is perfectly well formed if referring to a
bat'leth bout. [KGT 115]
Note the use of the object prefix {wI-} in {wIjoppu' 'ej
wIway'pu'}. Perhaps the implied object is the metaphorical bat'leth or the
actual arguments made by yourself and your opponent. (I wonder if similar
sword-play imagery is behind the English phrase "you make a good point" in
an argument? <g>)
Cf. also {yan} "wield, use or manipulate a sword".
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons