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

[SuStel]

On 3/10/2016 10:26 AM, Steven Boozer wrote:
> quSDaq bIba'
> You sit in a chair. KGT
>
> quSDaq ba'
> He/she sits in a chair. KGT
>
> KGT 124 (re {quSDaq ba'}): Probably influenced by the homophony of
> verb suffix {-ba'} (obviously) and the verb {ba'} (sit), this expression
> has come to mean "that's obvious". It is used only in a condescending
> manner as a response to something that the hearer deems so self-evident
> that it need not have been stated in the first place. For example, upon
> hearing an obvious remark, one might say, {quSDaq bIba'} ("You sit in a
> chair"--that is, "What you said is quite obvious") or {quSDaq ba'}
> ("He/she sits in a chair"--that is, "What he/she said is quite obvious").

It's the Klingon equivalent of "duh!" though perhaps with a little more 
dignity. Sometimes I see it used on this list by someone who has 
apparently forgotten its condescending connotation, as if it meant only 
a casual "obviously."

> quSDaq ba'lu''a'
> Is this seat taken? TKD

A good lesson to people like me who sometimes insist on precise 
translations: there's no {-vam} in the Klingon, but it's perfectly good 
as it is.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name