[83757] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: Klingon WOTD: DaHjaj (noun)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven Boozer)
Fri Dec 28 14:50:37 2007
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:49:01 -0600
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
From: Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu>
In-Reply-To: <E1J8Cwb-0002bS-21@server03.webpowerplus.org>
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Friday, December 28, 2007.
>
>Klingon word: DaHjaj
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition: today
Used in canon:
DaHjaj nom Soppu'
Today they ate quickly. TKD
DaHjaj jI'oj
Today I am thirsty. CK
DaH vay' vIlarghlaH
Now I can smell something. CK
DaHjaj SuvwI' SoH
Today you are a warrior. PK
DaHjaj SuvwI''e' jIH
Today I am a warrior. TKW
DaHjaj matlh jupna' pIpong
Today we name you a true friend of Maltz. FMC
Discussed by Okrand:
st.klingon (6/97): There don't seem to be special words for "the current
year" and so forth comparable to {DaHjaj} "the current day" or "today".
{DaHjaj} seems to be formed of the adverbial {DaH} "now" plus the noun
{jaj} "day", a unique type of formation as far as I know. It is perhaps by
analogy to {DISvam}, {jarvam}, etc.--all formed by simply adding a noun
suffix to a noun--that Klingons also refer to the current day as {jajvam}
"this day". Though they both can be translated "today", {DaHjaj} and
{jajvam} are not quite interchangeable. As the time element in a sentence,
{DaHjaj} (and not {jajvam}) is used:
DaHjaj romuluSngan vIHoHpu'
Today I killed a Romulan.
As the subject of a sentence, on the other hand, {jajvam} is more typically
found:
nI' jajvam
This day is long
though {DaHjaj} is not impossible:
nI' DaHjaj
Today is long.
{DaHjaj} also behaves as a noun (as opposed to an adverbial element) in
such noun-noun constructions as {DaHjaj gheD} "today prey" or "today's
prey", a term often heard in Klingon restaurants with a meaning comparable
to "catch of the day". Phrases such as {jajvam po} "this day morning" or
"this morning" are not common, but they're not ungrammatical either. In
Klingon, you could even say {DaHjaj pem} "today's daytime", which would
probably be typically contrasted with {DaHjaj ram} "today's night" (or
"tonight").
Other time expressions with {Dahjaj} include:
{DaHjaj DungluQ} this noon, today at noon [lit. "today noon" or "today's
noon" (st.k 6/97)
{DaHjaj pemjep} this midday, today in the middle of the day [lit. "today
midday" or "today's midday" (st.k 6/97)
{DaHjaj pov} this afternoon [lit. "today afternoon" or "today's afternoon"
(st.k 6/97)
{DaHjaj ramjep} this midnight, tonight at midnight [lit. "today midnight"
or "today's midnight" (st.k 6/97)
KGT 100ff.: In some restaurants, the menu ({HIDjolev}) is posted (seldom
are individual copies available), but in most, the patrons know the regular
fare and ask about specials, including the {DaHjaj gheD} (literally,
"today's prey"), a dish whose components depend on what animals the
restaurant's hunters were able to bring in.
Finally, {DaHjaj} is used to label the "date" (July 21, 1999) on the KLI
Friend of Maltz certificate (FMC).
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
