[[
  [2000-08-27] OCR scanned by zrajm
  [2003-01-28] added file header
  [2013-04-11] minor summary update
  Style: {}=bold, <>=italics, paginated

  Type: article
  Date: September 1996
  Title: The Tale of {'I'}
  Author: Mark Shoulson
  Source: <{HolQeD} 5:3>, page 14
  Publisher: Klingon Language Institute, Flourtown, PA, ISSN 1061-2327
  Summary: Mark Shoulson retells the story about how Klingons got their
    {'I'Du'} <armpits>.

  : "The Tale of {'I'}", from <{HolQeD} 5:3>, page 14
  : Interview by Mark Shoulson, September 1996
  : Klingon Language Institute, Flourtown, PA
  : ISSN 1061-2327

]][[p.14]]

The Tale of {'I'}

Mark Shoulson

A few weeks before the {qep'a'}, Daniel Morse, a contributor to the mailing
list, happened to mention in passing that the word "{'I'}" was canon for
"armpit." This surprised the hell out of me; I couldn't remember ever seeing
that in any canon! He couldn't supply a source, only said "but I know it's
canon. Really." I, at least, was pretty vocal in my opposition, saying I knew
nothing about it, had never heard of it before, until it's verified I won't
accept it, etc etc. Other people were saying "Wait, that <sounds> familiar... I
can't place it..."

     Finally, Alan Anderson ran a search on the archives of the mailing list
and found the source. Turns out, I, none other than myself, had used it in a
post once as an example of why you shouldn't make up non-canon words. I
was saying "Imagine you're a newcomer to Klingon, trying to translate a post
to this list, all fired-up with your <TKD> in hand... and you come across a word
that you simply can't find in any source. You flip and you flip, you go to all
recognized official sources, but how are you supposed to know that "{'I'}"
suddenly means "armpit?" It was trying to show that if people make up
their own words, newcomers will be left behind (at least with canon there's a
<single> source: Marc Okrand). Well, that must have somehow managed to get
divorced from its original meaning, as a paradigmatic NON-canon word, and
got associated as a <canon> word. That would also explain why it looked
familiar to people.

     This was amusing enough. Then, at the {qep'a'}, there was a game of
{pegh mu'} going (Password). Contestants had to say single-word (Klingon)
clues to get their partners to say the secret word. At one point, the word was
{noSvagh}, and the audience groaned, whispering "{'I'}" to one another. It was
the perfect clue, but illegal, since it wasn't a Klingon word.

     But that wasn't the end of it. When Marc Okrand arrived, we told him
the tale. He said "Well, you know what the Klingon word for 'armpit' really
<is>? {'I'}!" Later that night he used the word himself, dancing the Hokey Pokey
during the Cabaret. And that, children, is how Klingons got their {'I'Du'}.

[[eof]]