[89562] in tlhIngan-Hol
RE: A ghaj for every -Daj? - jInIDqa'
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Felix Malmenbeck)
Sat Sep 10 12:29:54 2011
From: Felix Malmenbeck <felixm@kth.se>
To: " tlhIngan-Hol@KLI.org " <tlhIngan-Hol@KLI.org>
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:20:27 +0000
In-Reply-To: <SNT106-DS244AB21F787986A834997CA1000@phx.gbl>
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
@qomeQ: cha'logh QInvam DaHevmo' jIQoS.
It strikes me that I've forgotten a very important example: <HoSghaj> {to be powerful}
Though this is actually a verb of its own, it appears to be inspired by the phrase <HoS ghaj>, suggesting that power is something one can <ghaj>.
Not sure which of my previous categories I would have placed <HoS> in... Probably a new category called "Abstract characteristics" or something. Other words that would have fit in there are <laH>, <toDuj>, <DIch>, <qajunpaQ>, <quv>, <batlh>, <le'yo'>, <yIn>, <Hegh>, etc, along with a bunch of words ending with -ghach. Possibly also words like <ghogh>. Maybe <DuH>.
Canonical examples:
<tera'nganvaD romuluS HIq jabQo'. HoSghajqu'.> - "They won't serve Romulan ale to Terrans; too potent." [CK]
<vay’ DaghIjlaHchugh bIHoSghaj.> - "Fear is power." (lit. "If you can frighten someone you're powerful.")
<HoSghaj; mupwI' rur> - "powerful as a hammer"
ghItlhta' qomeQ,
> Perhaps Klingon uses the same construction to indicate age. I rather prefer it over the English version.
There is a canonical way of saying "I am X years old": [X] ben jIboghpu' ("X years ago I've been born")
Source: http://klingonska.org/canon/search/?file=1996-12-12a-news.txt&get=source
Of course, there needn't be only one way.
ghItlhta' qomeQ,
> In the KLI postal course the example is:
> QumwI'e' vIghajnIs I need a COMMUNICATOR
Dajqu'! The KLPC isn't canon, but it's still interesting to know what such an influential document has to say.
<[material possession] vIghajnIS> seems a very reasonable extrapolation from such examples as <nIn 'ar wIghaj> and <qaStaHvIS wa'maH puq poHmey, wo'rIv betleH ghaj qorDu'Daj>.
There is also the verb <poQ> ("to demand/require"), which can be used of both sentences (<qab legh 'e' poQ> [KGT]) and simple nouns (<muSuvbogh DoS vIpoQ.> [ST5]).
Now, the question is, could Klaa just as well have said <muSuvbogh DoS vIghajnIS> ("I need to have a target which fights me")?
