tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 11 07:25:21 2006

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Re: Klingon WOTD: bej (verb)

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Thursday, May 11, 2006.
>
>Klingon word:   bej
>Part of Speech: verb
>Definition:     watch

As used in canon:

   bISutlhnISchugh jaghlI' mInDu' tIbej
   If you must negotiate, watch your enemy's eyes. TKW

   qabej
   I watch you. KGT

   jIbej
   I watch. KGT

   bIbej'a'
   Do you watch? KGT

   HIvrup 'e' vIbej
   I watch that they're ready to attack. KGT

Related verbs:

{nej} look for, seek, search for; {nuD} examine, {legh} see; {HaD} study

>Homonyms:
>     bej (verb) - be sure, definite, positive, certain (slang)

   The verb {bej} literally means "watch", though its slang usage
   is probably influenced by the verb suffix {-bej} ("certainly,
   undoubtedly"; compare {voq}, "trust", and {voqbej}, "certainly
   trust"). It is used in such forms as {jIbej} ("I am positive
   [about something I just said]"--literally, "I watch") or
   {bIbej'a'} ("Are you sure?"--literally, "Do you watch?").
   Unlike the verb {na'} ("be salty"), which has an identical
   slang meaning (see below), the verb {bej} may be used when
   there is an object: {HIvrup 'e' vIbej} ("I am positive they're
   ready to attack"; literally, "I watch that they're ready to
   attack"). The notions expressed by {bej} can be conveyed without
   slang with a word such as {Honbe'} ("not doubt") or by making
   use of the verb suffix {-bej}, as in {HIvrupbej} ("They're
   certainly ready to attack").  (KGT 145)

   The slang word [{na'}], a verb, is used in such constructions
   as {jIna'} ("I am positive [about something I just said]";
   literally, "I am salty"] and {bIna''a'} ("Are you sure?";
   literally, "Are you salty?"). These kinds of meanings may be
   expressed without using slang by employing such verbs as
   {Honbe'} ("not doubt") or {Sovbej} ("know for certain"). See
   also {bej}, a slang term with similar meaning."  (KGT 157)

Related noun:

{DIch} certainty



--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons






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