Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Sum

[Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu>]

> Klingon Word of the Day for Friday, May 22, 2015
> 
> Klingon word: Sum
> Part of speech: verb
> Definition: be near, be nearby

Sum Daqmeyvam, tera'ngan 
These places are nearby, Terran. CK

pIvghor yIchu' 'ej Duj Sumqu' yIjaH 
Warp to the nearest vessel. MKE

pIvghor yIchu' 'ej HoSHal Sumqu' yIjaH 
Advance to the nearest energy source. MKE

yuQ SumDaq cha'puj law' Datu' 
Detect large sums of dilithium on nearby planet. MKE


MSN expert.forum (9/1997):  As for how to use {Sum} "be near, nearby" - that will require some more time with Maltz. {Do' Sum matlh}. I would think, however, that it would work the same way as {Hop} "be far".


Will Martin (charghI') later interviewed Okrand on deixis (HQ Dec. 1998:9-10):

   MO: Using the verbs Sum and Hop involves this concept. 
   WM: So I could not say raSvam vISum to say, I am near the table.
   MO: No. You'd just say Sum raS. The verb Sum implies that the speaker
 is the one the subject is near at the time of speaking. Hop jabwI'. The
 waiter is far from me right now. 
   WM: Like if I wanted to say, You are near the table, could I say SoHvaD
 Sum raS? 
   MO: No. You'd use -Daq: SoHDaq Sum raS. This throws the orientation away
 from the speaker (unmarked, unstated) and to the listener (marked, stated:
 "at you, where you are"). But you don't always need to state this overtly.
 Context is critical. For example: qagh largh SuvwI' ghung. Sum qagh 'e' Sov.
 The hungry warrior smells the gagh. He/she knows the gagh is nearby. The
 only interpretation of this (absent other information) is that the warrior
 knows the gagh is near the warrior, not the warrior knows the gagh is near
 the speaker of the sentences. If context isn't clear, you can clarify: 
     Question: Sum'a' raS? Is the table near (me)? (Am I near the table?) 
     Answer:   HIja'. Sum raS. Yes. The table is near (you). 
     Answer:   ghobe'. jIHDaq Sum raS. No. The table is near me. 
   WM:  And could I say maSumchuq? 
   MO: No. You'd just say bISum or SuSum. If you haven't, in the course of
 the conversation, set things up otherwise, it's assumed that the event being
 talked about is taking place where the speaker is. In fact, jISum alone
 probably would make no everyday sense to a Klingon. I am near me. But it
 does have an idiomatic philosophical sense, something like I'm in touch with
 my inner self (but in a Klingon sort of way, of course).


SEE ALSO:
chuq 		range, distance (n)
retlh 	area beside, next to, beside (n)

Hop 		be far, be remote (v):

SuvwI' vI' Dub naQvam 'ej ray' HopDaq bachlu'meH chuqna' ghurmoH naQvam 
This serves to steady the aim of a warrior and increase the effective
 range for distance targeting. S14

Daq HopHa'Daq qa'chaj nejlI' qotar Qempa'QeH je 
Not far away, Kotar and his Qempa'keh, are in search for their souls. PB

HaDlu'meH, QuSlu'meH, SuDlu'meH lojmIt Da logh Hop Hut tengchaH. vaj 
 loghDaq lenglaHtaH Humanpu' 
space station Deep Space Nine is the gateway for the exploration, intrigue
 and enterprise that mark the continuation of the human adventure into 
 space... S99


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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