[Tlhingan-hol] Is {chach} also a verb?

[De'vID jonpIn]

Quvar:
> Qu'vatlh! - I used to believe I have all the HolQeD issues, but after
looking for it, I found out that this is one I never had :-(
>
> TKD just says chach (n) energency, both in KE and EK sides. KGT does not
have anything.

The list from HQ 1.3 is here:
http://klingonska.org/canon/1992-09-holqed-01-3.txt

auxiliary, backup ) {chach} [[):= ]] (= emergency [[emergency:=emergency )]]

I'm not entirely clear on the notation.  I think it means that HQ 1.3 was
adding the meanings "auxiliary, backup" to the already known meaning of
"emergency".

Quvar:
> Theoretically, if it meant "backup", why must it precede tlham in a
noun-noun construction? Could this not be, literally, "backup of gravity",
i.e.
>  "gravity's backup"
>  {tlham chach}

This is how I'd interpret it as well.  {tlham chach} "backup of gravity,
auxiliary [system or generator] of gravity".  *{chach tlham} would be
"gravity of the backup, gravity of the auxiliary [system]", which sounds
like the gravity of a backup system, not a backup system for gravity.

Quvar:
> Or is this just one of those "look-up errors", using a wrong word in a
word-to -word translation? My webster's dictionary tells me that emergency
can be a noun and an adjective (a verb for klingons), and it is used as an
adjective in combinations like "emergency gravity". From that point of
view, with the example of {tlham chach}, it seems to be a verb.
>
> But I would like to see some better confirmation.

We recently learned that Klingons would call Earth ambulances {chach Duj}
if they saw them.  My interpretation is that that in noun-noun
constructions where {chach} is one of the nouns, whether {chach} has the
sense of "auxiliary" or "emergency" (in English translation -- obviously
they're the same word to a Klingon) depends on whether it comes first or
second.  Compare:

{chach Duj} "emergency vehicle, vehicle of emergency" - a vehicle used to
handle emergency situations, e.g., an ambulance or the like
{Duj chach} "backup (of) vehicle, auxiliary (of) vehicle" - a vehicle used
when (i.e., in the emergency event that) the primary vehicle is not
available, e.g., my crappy car that I don't use any more unless my newer
car is in the shop

But until a Klingon points to a backup vehicle and says {Duj chach}, this
is only speculation.

It looks like the belief that {chach} is a verb/adjective is an
opinion/interpretation only, and isn't unambiguously canonical.  I'll note
that in my lexicon.

--
De'vID
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stodi.digitalkingdom.org/pipermail/tlhingan-hol/attachments/20120112/e21fe7cd/attachment.html>