tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 24 09:02:17 2013
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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Thought for the day
Lawrence M. Schoen wrote:
>> It occurs to me that I do not know a Klingon verb which means "be
>> modest" [...] Not that we have any need for such a word.
De'vId:
> Are we talking "dressed conservatively" or "humble"?
> For the latter, how is {nguqHa'}?
From {nguq} "be arrogant/haughty/conceited", which has been suggested before. Other options might be *{jeQHa'} "be un-self-confident" (which may refer to someone who's unsure of themselves) or *{jaqHa'} "be un-bold". Still another could be {HemHa'} "lose one's pride" ("be un-pround"), used in the paq'batlh:
naDev Sughompu' 'ej Qo'noS SuvwI'pu' Hem tlhIH
All of you here, proud warriors of Kronos (PB)
maQ 'oH HemHa'choH 'ej cho'choH moratlh
The signal for Morath to lose his pride and claim a throne. (PB)
None of them are quite right but, as Lawrence pointed out, being modest and self-effacing - or shyness, for that matter - aren't exactly Klingon behaviors.
And just for reference (since that's what I do):
HQ 12.3 (p.9): The notion of 'too big for one's britches' (be too haughty or arrogant for one's status) as well as that of "commit hubris" (be presumptuous or arrogant) might best be rendered in Klingon not by {HoQ} ["be honored falsely, be falsely honorable"] but by {nguq} "be arrogant, haughty, conceited" an undesirable trait. To be {Hem} "proud", however, is quite admirable and does not carry any connotations of arrogance as the Federation Standard words "proud" and "pride" sometimes do. The noun {'eDjen} refers to a person who is arrogant or haughty.
KGT 30-31: throughout the Empire, a soup whose main component is *igvah* liver has a special name, {ghaw'}. This word is avoided in the Vospeg region, however, because there, the word {ghaw'} is a slang term meaning something like "one who is full of self-doubt or who is insecure" and is a word used only as an insult. To refer to the soup, one simply says {'IghvaH chej chatlh} (literally, "*igvah* liver soup"). In most of the Empire, to say to someone {ghaw' SoH} means only "You are *igvah* liver soup", an odd thing to say, but more incongruous than anything else. In the Vospeg region, on the other hand, to call someone a {ghaw'} is often the prelude to a fight to the death.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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