tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jan 06 09:06:25 2010
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RE: qoSwIj
Mark J. Reed:
>> I would tend to question the translation {DaHjaj qoSwIj 'oH}. "Today
>> it is my birthday" is fine in English, but it's one of those weird
>> idiomatic uses of "it" that lacks an antecedent (like "It's hot out",
>> "It's seven o'clock"). Do we have evidence that Klingon does
>> something similar?
{'oH} almost always refers to an actual, tangible object but I did find four exceptions:
an abstract idea (revenge, honor):
bortaS nIvqu' 'oH bortaS'e'
Revenge is the best revenge. (TKW)
SajlIj 'oHbe' quvwIj'e'
My honor is not your play-thing.
(lit. "My honor is not your pet.") (STConst p.259)
an intangible place (space):
veH Qav 'oH logh'e'
space--the final frontier (S99)
and a geometric figure (i.e. the shape, not the thing it's drawn on):
meyrI'Daq 'oHtaH gho'e'
The circle is in the square. (qep'a' 2005)
While the last two might be considered virtual/imaginary objects or places, the first two can't be (however important the concepts are to Klingons).
--
Voragh
Canon Master of the Klingons