[Tlhingan-hol] Cursing

[lojmIttI'wI'nuv]

TKD page 58 (the end of 5.5) and the Conversational Klingon audio tape/CD both deal with curses. Just because they aren’t the curses you’d like to make from Greek doesn’t make them not legitimate curses. Other cultures likely don’t see any sex act as a curse, since most sex acts are actually quite a lot of fun, and your culture probably thinks that curses involving fleas infesting your nostrils might be weird, though other cultures would be livid at such a mention.

Jokes, curses, poetry and other abstract language constructions often fail to translate. Don’t bemoan that someone else didn’t create a language and culture that suits you. Go create your own, if you are going to be that specific and demanding.

Use the language for what you can do well with it. As you learn it better, you’ll stumble into things that can be better said in Klingon than in other languages. It’s like a perfect black pearl that you discover while casually eating oysters. Expect one out of any given oyster and you’ll spend a lot of time being disappointed, but seek only food and you’ll accidentally find the pearls and be delighted.

pItlh
lojmIt tI'wI'nuv



> On Feb 29, 2016, at 4:09 AM, mayql qunenoS <mihkoun at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Since this a rather slow couple of days, in regards to the number of
> posts that are made, I would like to take this leisurely time, to
> babble about some random thoughts of mine.. After all, who wouldn't
> like while crusing through an uneventful constellation, engage in
> philosophical discussions, at ten forward over a glass of romulan ale
> ?
> 
> Okrand has taken several measures to shy away from a language
> containing vulgar or offensive words. However as much as I respect and
> admire okrand, I believe that this is an omission on his part. Why ?
> Because a language needs to be able to satisfy the everyday needs of
> its speakers, and one such need is the need to curse. We're not
> vulcans, and we may not be klingons, however as terrans we're
> frequently pissed (at least I am) and therefore the need arises to be
> able to curse even in klingon.
> 
> The counter-argument though is, that klingon does have curses, which
> are considered pretty effective ones, for a klingon ; I mean, ok, if
> someone told me that my mother has a smooth forehead I would consider
> it a "neutral statement", but the same phrase told to a klingon would
> have dire consequences.. Be that as it may, I would still like to be
> able to curse in klingon, in a similar way, that I do in greek.
> 
> Unfortunately though, klingon does not give me the building blocks, in
> order to formulate my insults.. Or does it ?
> 
> In a previous thread I wrote at my signature :
> 
> nga'chuqjaj wovlI'ghach.
> 
> As soon as I wrote this however (and pressed send..), I realized that
> I was mistaken. I should have removed the {-chuq} and placed {-'egh}
> instead. In this way I would have :
> 
> nga''eghjaj wovlI'ghach
> 
> Which I believe is pretty clear. <may the light go and ... itself>. Of
> course though, the argument will come that we do not know whether we
> are able to dissociate the {nga'} from the {-chuq}, but anyway, if
> you're pissed, then I believe that you can go "poetic" on some words
> stretching their meaning to express yourself.
> 
> Moving away from the notorious f word, we come across to someone else
> who is an essential component of terran curses..
> 
> The old nick, the ancient enemy, the serpent of eden etc etc.. How
> would I say his name in klingon ? This seemed as an insurmountable
> problem, until it occured to me that his name in hebrew actually
> translates as "the accuser" or "the adversary" depending on the
> gospel. So we could have the klingon equivalents of {pumwI'} and
> {ghol} respectively. Now, notice this.. {pumwI'} can not only
> translate to <the one who accuses>, but also to <the one who falls>..
> A rather strange qoincidence if you ask me. A qoincidence only matched
> by another strange qoincidence {DevwI'} = <leader>. In the scriptures
> the dev.. is described as the leader of this world. Or we could just
> say that this word stems from the word <develop> and leave it at that.
> 
> Anyway, whatever the case may be, we now have another weapon in our
> cursing arsenal, which could be used in order to wish that someone may
> be taken by it, send to it etc etc.
> 
> Moving on, no reference to the art of terran cursing, could be ever
> considered complete if someone didn't concern himself with the mother
> of the one he is cursing. And now that I'm thinking of it, there are
> many-many truly wonderful ways to refer to, in klingon, to any part of
> the mother's body of the one you're cursing, but because they are
> rather vulgar I will stop myself here.
> 
> mayqel mIv Hurgh qunnoq
> you have not experienced shakespeare until you have read him in the
> original klingon
> 
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