[Tlhingan-hol] On the word {tlho'} and its kin

[Felix Malmenbeck]

I've been thinking: We humans are all very used to expressing our emotions through words. If we are grateful, we say "Thank you!". If we are sorry, we say "I'm sorry."
Words are so powerful that we are sometimes afraid to utter them, or worry what will happen if we don't. Case in point: "I love you."
Indeed, words are so valuable to us that they can be claimed in penance: You can demand an apology of somebody, and a court can even sentence you to make a public apology.

Klingons have their own ritual words, for example in the case of qa'meH vIttlheghmey and peghmey vIttlheghmey.
In general, though, Klingons are known to be more action-oriented. Indeed, the last time I checked my copy of TKW, the proverb {bI'IQchugh, yab Qel yISuch.} wasn't in there, and in PK, Worf explicitly states that Klingons don't say "Excuse me" or "Thank you". {nughpu' pIm, tIghmey pIm.}
Indeed, MO has stated many times that Klingons don't say {qatlho'}, and I guess we shouldn't be surprised. After all, what function does this word actually serve? If you really NEED to state satisfaction explicitly, there's already the word {maj}, not to mention verbs such as {Quch} and {bel}.
I've been thinking, therefore: What if the word {tlho'} refers to something more than just uttering a ritualized set of words? What if it actually refers to repaying somebody's honorable actions, not because it is demanded of one but because one feels gratitude towards them?

When somebody does something towards you that merit gratitude, you might ask {chay' qatlho'laH} ("How can I thank you?") or {qatlho'nIS}** ("I must thank you"). If one DID say simply {qatlho'}, it would be to say "I will do something to thank you"; it would be a promise of an act to come, not the act itself.
One might also say something like {ghaH vItlho'meH ghaHvaD targhwIj nIvqu' vInob}; "I shall give him my finest targ as thanks".
{DutoDbogh tera'nganvaD qagh Danobchugh, Datlho'Ha'.} - "Giving a Terran gagh is a poor way of thanking her for saving your life."
{tlho'meH targh} - "thank you targ" ('cuz thank you cards are for weaklings)

...or perhaps {tlho'} really DOES refer to being in a grateful state, in which case one might imagine it being used in such sentences as {vavlI' vItlho'mo' ghojwI'wI' Damoj 'e' vIlaj.} ("I accept you as my pupil because I owe a debt of gratitude to your father.") or {bItlho'chugh yIvang!} ("If you are grateful, act!"). The phrase {qatlho'} would then be interpreted as "I am grateful towards you", with the implication that one intends to repay the addressee; again, it is a promise of an act to come, not the act itself.
In this case, {tlho'Ha'} would not mean "to thank somebody badly", and perhaps it wouldn't even mean "to be ungrateful" in the way that we understand it, but rather "to be possessed of misplaced gratitude", or perhaps "to have repaid one's debt of gratitude".
{ghaH vItlho'Ha'choHmeH ghaHvaD targhwIj nIvqu' vInob.} - "In order to become ungrateful towards her, I shall give her my finest targ."
{*je'raD* tuq tlho'Ha'mo' tlhIngan yejquv woQ'a' 'oHtaH DuraS tuq'e'.} - "Because the Klingon High Council has a misplaced sense of gratitude towards Ja'rod, it remains a political powerhouse."
{mutoDDI' vItlho'choH 'ej vItoDDI' vItlho'Ha'choH.} - "I became grateful towards him when he saved my life, and became ungrateful when I saved his.")
{mutoDDI' vItlho'choH 'ach vavwI' chotDI' vItlho'Ha'.} - "I became grateful towards her when she saved my life, but lost my gratitude when she murdered my father.}
{vay' DaSeHchu'meH SoHvaD Datlho'nISmoH.} - "To truly control somebody, make them grateful towards you.}
{vay' vItlho'lI'chugh reH jIbelHa'.} - "I can never be satisfied as long as I have an unpaid debt of gratitude."
{reH tlho'taH qoH neH.} - "Only fools are possessed with undying gratitude."

One might also imagine the NOUN {tlho'} taking on a somewhat different role from its English counterparts. While "gratitude" is a feeling that normally persists even after the feeling of debt has subsided, and is often regarded as a positive feeling, perhaps {tlho'} is more of a need which subsides once it has been satisfied.
{may'Daq mutoDDI' muDuQ tlho''a' 'a ngugh wa'ben latlh may'Daq ghaH vItoD. vaj vItlho' rIntaH.} - "I was struck with great gratitude when he/sje saved me in battle, but one year hence I saved him/her in another battle. Thus, my gratitude towards him/her is complete."

What do y'all think? How should the word {tlho'}? What of other words - such as {Hoy'} ("to congratulate"), {QoS} ("to be sorry") and {tlhIj} ("to apologize") - which Terrans have evolved rituals around?

**...to which one might respond {chotlho' net poQbe'} or {chotlho' 'e' vIpoQbe'}, but not {chotlho'nISbe'}. If I understand it correctly, -nIS refers to a need on the part of the subject, not one imposed by others.
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