tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Apr 16 09:48:40 2013
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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: pay'
> >> Klingon Word of the Day for Friday, April 12, 2013
> >>
> >> Klingon word: pay'
> >> Part of speech: adv
> >> Definition: suddenly
Voragh:
>> pay' HIvDI' lo'wI' pagh mupDI' QIHchu' bIH
>> [They] provide a damaging surprise attack or give a
>> devastating backhand stroke. SP2
>>
>> Note the apparent idiom: {pay' HIv} "surprise attack"
>> (i.e. "attack suddenly")
Here's the complete text of SkyBox card SP2 {SuvwI' taj" (Blade of the Warrior):
lI'qu' tlhIngan may' taj. not Hub'eghrupHa' lo'wI'. taj
DopmeyDaq nargh cha' tajHom. Ghop luQan tajHommey. Pe'laH je.
moQDaq DuQwI'Hommey jej tu'lu'. Pay' HivDI' lo'wI' pagh mupDI'
QIHchu' bIH.
The Klingon battle knife is designed primarily for versatility
of use, so that the user is never caught at a disadvantage. Two
small, secondary blades eject from the knife's sides, providing
both a hand guard and another set of cutting edges. A brutally
spiked pommel fastens the hilt together to provide a damaging
surprise attack or give a devastating backhand stroke.
De'vID:
> I wonder about the translation of {mup} as "backhand". Does {mup} imply
> "backhand", the way {qIp} implies "hit with fist" and {weq} means "hit
> with palm"? Or did something get dropped in the Klingon, or did MO not
> care about the "backhand" part of the translation?
Okrand probably finessed his translation of the text the SkyBox people gave him. I imagine "backhand" is implied. How else would you hit someone with "a brutally spiked pommel" other than moving it backwards (i.e. not stabbing {DuQ})? I can't imagine holding onto the blade and using it like a club or hammer. (Then again, maybe they could: Klingon warriors do wear those fingerless gloves which would protect their hand.)
KGT 58: A warrior's glove ({pogh}), also made of skin, had wide band around the wrist and sharp protrusions at the knuckles. ... The gloves did not have fingers. They were designed to protect the palm, back of the hand, and wrist, but to not interfere with the mobility of a warrior's fingers.
Also note Okrand's choice of {mup} "impact, strike" over {qIp} "hit (with hand, fist, implement)} and {moq} "beat (something with an implement)". We have another example of {mup} from the paq'batlh:
muptaHvIS tay''eghmoH QeHDaj Hoch
All his rage focussed in one blow (PB)
and the nomen agentis is {mupwI'} "hammer", both of which give an idea of the difference in meaning.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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