[94702] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Qu'vatlh
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Felix Malmenbeck)
Wed Sep 19 18:22:46 2012
From: Felix Malmenbeck <felixm@kth.se>
To: Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu>, "tlhingan-hol@kli.org"
<tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:22:14 +0000
In-Reply-To: <ACF6622D959A8842A81E4471BA56A7E001EF7231@xm-mbx-04-prod.ad.uchicago.edu>
Errors-To: tlhingan-hol-bounces@stodi.digitalkingdom.org
ghItlhta' Voragh,
> AFAIK never used in canon. Does it - or any other curse for that matter =
- appear in the {paq'batlh}?
petaQ is used a fair bit, as one might expect.
It contains this footnote (which I believe was written by Sch=F6nefeld, not=
Okrand):
P=92takh (petaQ) is a Klingon insult, meaning something like =93weirdo,=94 =
deriving from the verb =93to be weird=94 (taQ), with and you (plural) imper=
ative prefix (pe-). Alternative romanizations include pahtak, p=92tak, pata=
hk, and pahtk.
Interestingly, the text contains the line <nItlhejbogh petaQmey tInuD> ("Lo=
ok att hese p'takhs at your side"), shouted by Molor at Kahless; not sure i=
f the <-mey> was intentional to add insult to, well, insult.
[It also contains the phrase <nuqDaq ghaH petaQ'e'> ("Where is the p'takh [=
...]"), with <ghaH> rather than <'oH>.]
Molor also tell Kahless <petaQ'a' SoH>, which is translated as "You dirty p=
'takh,". So, apparently <petaQ'a'> is a thing.
Another curse:
tuHbe' tlhInganvam jay'
--"Curse this Klingon, who has no shame!"
(paq'raD, Canto 5; page 109)
________________________________________
From: Steven Boozer [sboozer@uchicago.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2012 16:51
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
Subject: Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: Qu'vatlh
> Klingon word: Qu'vatlh
> Part of speech: excl
> Definition: Klingon curse
AFAIK never used in canon. Does it - or any other curse for that matter - =
appear in the {paq'batlh}?
CK: This is something you might hear someone say in moments of extreme ang=
er. Be concerned if you hear it.
TKD 178: The invective {va} is actually just a shortened form of {Qu'vatlh=
}.
HQ 11.3: Traffic along the interstate was particularly heavy, a topic whic=
h at some point entered into the conversation. Dr. Okrand reports that Malt=
z volunteered the Klingon term {Hutvagh}, a noun, meaning "too many people =
or things in a place all at once". Maltz further indicated that the term wa=
s used as word play, a substitution for the more common {Qu'vatlh} which mi=
ght otherwise be heard in such situations.
Trek trivia:
When Picard failed to convince Governor Vagh that the Federation wasn't sup=
plying weapons to Kriosian rebels, Vagh shouted: "You speak the lies of a =
*tah-keck*!" Picard calmly leaned forward and replied, "*Qu'vatlh guy'cha =
b'aka*!" Vagh complimented him, saying: "You swear well, Picard. You must =
have Klingon blood in you." (TNG "The Mind's Eye")
Etymological speculation:
"{qu'vatlh}: Klingon animal noted for stubbornness, much as the Earth mule=
is. ("Sons and Daughters" [DS9])" (ST:Encyclopedia [1977 ed.])
"{Qu'} is 'task', {vatlh} is 'hundred'. {Qu'vatlh}, a hundred tasks. Certai=
nly a curse at having many things to accomplish and not enough resources to=
accomplish them. I personally use this one in my own job." (Kevin Geiselma=
n)
"{Qu'} means quest or mission. {vatlh} means a hundred. So the origin of th=
e word, centuries ago, could have been something about hundred missions. I =
would be really angry about so much work." (muHwI')
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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