[99946] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: mu'mey ru'
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Felix Malmenbeck)
Fri Dec 12 14:13:56 2014
From: Felix Malmenbeck <felixm@kth.se>
To: lojmIt tI'wI' nuv 'utlh <lojmitti7wi7nuv@gmail.com>,
"tlhingan-hol@kli.org" <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 19:13:02 +0000
In-Reply-To: <17FB90B9-7CCE-4A6A-82DA-3E2239346287@gmail.com>
Errors-To: tlhingan-hol-bounces@kli.org
An example from Marc Okrand himself:
At qepHom wa'maHDIch, Marc Okrand was giving a presentation (I believe it c=
oncerned the paq'batlh), and when he thought he was done, he announced <pIt=
lh!>
Somebody (the publisher?) then pointed out that there was something he'd le=
ft out, and so Marc said "Ah! *pItlhbe'!*"
(he then immediately proceeded to point out that that was wrong)
He never explicitly call it a <mu' ru'>, but it would seem to fit the descr=
iption quite well: An ungrammatical construction that got the point across,=
and highlighted a rather amusing situation.
________________________________________
From: lojmIt tI'wI' nuv 'utlh [lojmitti7wi7nuv@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 12, 2014 19:52
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
Subject: Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: mu'mey ru'
One of my favorite examples was when, at qep=92a=92 someone brought Captain=
Krankor a hand-made yamaka (I=92m probably misspelling that =97 it=92s the=
little hat that barely covers the crown of the head, worn by Jewish men) w=
ith the Klingon tri-foil on it. Krankor grabbed it, stuck it on his head an=
d jumped up and down, gleefully proclaiming, {jIyID! jIyID!}
lojmIt tI=92wI=92 nuv =91utlh
Door Repair Guy, Retired Honorably
> On Dec 12, 2014, at 10:14 AM, Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu> wrote:
>
>> Klingon Word of the Day for Friday, December 12, 2014
>>
>> Klingon word: mu'mey ru'
>> Part of speech: noun
>> Definition: temporary words (ungrammatical expression used for impact)
>
> KGT 176: Sometimes words or phrases are coined for a specific occasion, =
intentionally violating grammatical rules in order to have an impact. Usual=
ly these are never heard again, though some gain currency and might as well=
be classified as slang. Klingon grammarians call such forms {mu'mey ru'} (=
"temporary words"). Sometimes, {mu'mey ru'} fill a void--that is, give voic=
e to an idea for which there is no standard (or even slang) expression; som=
etimes, like slang, they are just more emphatic ways of expressing an idea.=
A common way to create these constructions is to bend the grammatical rule=
s somewhat, violating the norm in a way that is so obvious that there is no=
question that it is being done intentionally. To do this is expressed in K=
lingon as {pabHa'} ("misfollow [the rules], follow [the rules] wrongly").
>
> KGT 180: Some speakers of Klingon never use such nonconformist construct=
ions. Some use a few from a stock set. Others seem to be somewhat creative.=
Among Klingons, there is a fine line between creative use of the language =
and silliness, however, and Klingons are rather intolerant of the latter. A=
ccordingly, the visitor to a Klingon planet is advised to avoid making such=
constructions until he or she is very well versed in Klingon culture.
>
> KGT 181: No one accepts such constructions as grammatical; their inappro=
priateness, the way they grate on the Klingon ear, is exactly what gives th=
em elocutionary clout. A visitor may hear one of these odd suffixes occasio=
nally, but, as with other intentionally ungrammatical forms, it is best to =
avoid using them until one is extremely comfortable with the nuances of Kli=
ngon style.
>
> HQ 3.3 p.10ff.: It's a highly marked form. It's a word you are forming f=
or a specific occasion and a specific effect. If you were a poet or philoso=
pher or hard scientist and had to describe something very specifically thes=
e kinds of words might be appropriate but it carries the feeling of very te=
chnical arcane vocabulary, not normal everyday stuff. So can you say it? Ye=
s, but you are saying more, rather than less or neutral. [...] I suppose yo=
u could say that, and people would understand it, but it's weird. An I-seei=
ng-you happened. I can imagine someone saying that in English, and you'd lo=
ok up and say "huh?" but know exactly what was meant. It's following the ru=
les, but it's following them into a place they don't normally go.
>
> "Well, the first documented example of Klingon slang dates all the way ba=
ck to the early days of the mailing list. In fact, due to the wonders of ar=
chiving, we can determine the precise date: July 19, 1993 ... The first sla=
ng word, *{tlhoqo'} was coined. ... It was Will Martin who, after Kloko's i=
nvoluntary departure, first suggested *{tlhoqo'} - the Klingonization of Kl=
oko's name - as a slang word for misanthrope; the word quickly came to have=
a somewhat stronger meaning, more along the lines of 'asshole'. It is inte=
resting to note that at the time, I, as Grammarian of the list, felt it nec=
essary to give explicit waiver for this word, proclaiming it as slang for t=
he list, and thus not in violation of the prohibition against making up new=
words. This is the only time that people actually worried about the abilit=
y to use slang."
> [Krankor, "From the Grammarian's Desk" (HQ 12.4:2-3 [December 2003])]
>
> Holtej [date?]: Seqram was there, and so [Krankor] used *{HIlel} tongue-=
in-cheek to indicate the sandwich, in reference to a Jewish custom (Passove=
r?). It was a nonce word, it was funny, and it did the job.
>
> SEE ALSO:
>
> mu'mey ghoQ slang ("fresh words")
> Hol ghoQ slang ("fresh language")
>
>
> --
> Voragh
> Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
>
>
>
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