tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jul 31 11:33:39 2013
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: [Tlhingan-hol] bom mu'mey
Bellerophon:
> DaH SumevnIS tlhiH 'ej pIghraj botI'nISqa',
> wa'leS che'qa'taH roj meq je. 'ach jajvam SulujtaH.
>
> I rendered "peace and trust" as "roj meq je". Doesn't meq mean
> "reason, logic" as opposed to "reason, motive"? The conquered
> had better listen to reason.
Correct. In fact, I use {meq} as the closest Klingon noun to "logic" -- handy when discussing Vulcans. Some vocabulary with comments and examples:
{meq} reason, motive KGT (n)
KGT 175: A close standard equivalent is {meq} ("reason")--that is, logical thinking.
"Klingons may not care whether a falsehood is intentional, but only whether the information is reliable. As Ambassador Kell admonished Worf, "Motives? Who cares for motives? Humans, perhaps." (TNG "The Mind's Eye") This shows up as a proverb: {ram meqmey} 'Motives are insignificant'." (TKW 143)
{meq} reason (v)
No examples in canon.
ngoQ goal, purpose KGT (n)
- {tlhIngan ngoQmey chavmeH HoH tlhInganpu'} Klingons kill for their own purposes. TKW
- {ngoQvam luchavmeH ghawran maghpu' be'nI'pu'. woQ luSuqmeH jIjpu' chaH romuluSngan'e' je.} To this end, the sisters have acted against Gowron, going as far as to work with Romulan factions in order to gain power. S26
- {lenglIj lutebjaj lengwIjvaD bel rap, Sov rap, ngoQ rap je Danobpu'bogh} May your journey be filled with the same joy, wisdom, and purpose you have given mine. (Frasier)
{mo'} motive, motivation, grounds, reason, rationale (slang) KGT
KGT 154: This word literally means {cage}, suggesting that one's reasons for accomplishing a particular act are somehow restrictive or confining, as if preventing escape into other forms of behavior. The slang meaning is no doubt also influenced by the noun suffix {-mo'} ("due to", as in {HeSmo'}, "due to the crime") and verb suffix {-mo'} ("because", as in {HIvmo'} ["because he/she attacks"]). The slang term {mo'} is used in sentences such as {jaghpu' mo' wIyajnIS} ("We must understand the enemies' motive"; literally, "We must understand the enemies' cage"). A close standard equivalent is {meq} ("reason")--that is, logical thinking.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
_______________________________________________
Tlhingan-hol mailing list
[email protected]
http://stodi.digitalkingdom.org/mailman/listinfo/tlhingan-hol