[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: mu'tay'

[Steven Boozer]

> Klingon Word of the Day for Thursday, October 04, 2012
> 
> Klingon word:   mu'tay'
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition:     vocabulary
 
{mu'tay'} is annotated "(entire stock of words)" in my notes.  Is this in TKD? (I don't have it with me.)

AFAIK never used in a Klingon sentence.

Language notes:

KGT 8:  Certainly the central part of any language is its pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. ... Of course using a language involves choosing appropriate vocabulary and following the rules of pronunciation and grammar ... This is, of course, the case when two people are speaking two different languages--with utterly different sounds, grammar, and vocabulary--each unknown to the other speaker.

KGT 43:  The actual size of the Klingon vocabulary is unknown, even in rough numbers. Several thousand words have been catalogued to date, most of them reasonably common, frequently heard, and used throughout the Empire by Klingons of all social strata. A visitor could easily get by with a knowledge of this vocabulary alone.

KGT 35:  The primary difference between the speech of older and younger Klingons, however, lies in the choice of vocabulary. Younger Klingons describe some of the vocabulary used by their elders as {mu'mey Doy'} ("tired words"), preferring to use what they call {mu'mey ghoQ} ("fresh words") or even {Hol ghoQ} ("fresh language}) ... Perhaps "slang" is a good translation of {mu'mey ghoQ}. Some older Klingons incorporate some of the {mu'mey ghoQ} into their own speech, though some claim to not understand the {mu'mey ghoQ} at all (nor are they quite sure what the term itself means) ... It should be pointed out that the vocabulary associated with rituals, martial arts, literature, opera, and the like, though some of it may be genuinely archaic, is not considered {mu'mey Doy'} ("tired words"). Traditions are extremely important in Klingon culture, and the younger generation honors them fully.

Related nouns:

mu'  		word 
mu'ghom 		dictionary 
mu'qaD  		curse
mu'tlhegh  	sentence, phrase


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons