[Tlhingan-hol] <rq> wab

Steven Boozer sboozer at uchicago.edu
Fri Nov 15 09:08:16 PST 2013


chaDQI':
>vaj, nov(tera') pong jatlhmeH, [rq] wab pIqarD [rD] wab je lo'ba' tlhInganpu'.

'eD:
>> tlhIngan Hol ghItlhmeH, bIv {qIrq} {pIqarD} je.
>> vIraS Hol jatlhmeH, bIv'a' {pIqarD}?  jatlhlu''a' <pIqar>?


KGT 176:  Sometimes words or phrases are coined for a specific occasion, intentionally violating grammatical rules in order to have an impact. Usually 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 voice to an idea for which there is no standard (or even slang) expression; sometimes, like slang, they are just more emphatic ways of expressing an idea. A common way to create these constructions is to bend the grammatical rules 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 Klingon as {pabHa'} (“misfollow [the rules], follow [the rules] wrongly”).

KGT 181:  "No one accepts such constructions as grammatical; their inappropriateness, the way they grate on the Klingon ear, is exactly what gives them elocutionary clout. A visitor may hear one of these odd suffixes occasionally, but, as with other intentionally ungrammatical forms, it is best to avoid using them until one is extremely comfortable with the nuances of Klingon style." (KGT 181)

In the 16th century C.E, the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund once made a grammatical mistake in his Latin.  When informed of this he replied, "Ego sum imperator Romanorum, et supra grammaticam."



--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons





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