From: "Marc Okrand" Newsgroups: msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 13:15:40 -0700 Subject: Re: family names kay_fam@msn.com wrote in article <01bca1fe$094ae680$a5002299@default>... > Dr. Okrand, > > I would like to know the proper way to express a Klingon's name using the > name of his house. For example, I have created a character named > whose father is named . They are from the House of Molor. What > are the proper ways for to identify himself? If I were using > English, I would have him say, "I am Kahlor from the House of Molor." I > can also imagine that if spoken to in a formal manner, he might be > addressed as "Kahlor, son of Kahlin, from the House of Molor." Does this > simply become ? What does Matlz say? > > Deborah According to Maltz, there are at least a couple of ways to identify a Klingon's house (or ). One way is the way you suggested. To say "Kahlor of the House of Molor" (or, if you prefer, "Kahlor from the House of Molor"), you'd say simply "Kahlor, House of Molor": qeylor molor tuq If you want to be even more formal, the name of the father may be used as well -- again, as you suggested. "Kahlor, son of Kahlin, of the House of Molor" is "Kahlor, son of Kahlin, House of Molor": qeylor qeylIn puqloD molor tuq The other way is actually more formal and a bit formulaic. To say "Kahlor is of the House of Molor" (or "Kahlor is from the House of Molor"), you could say: tay' qeylor molor tuq je This is literally "Kahlor and the House of Molor are together" ( "be together," "and"). The construction is no doubt based on the Klingon proverb "One is always of his tribe" (literally, "a person and his house are always together"): reH tay' ghot tuqDaj je ( "always," "person," "his/her house") If Kahlor is speaking, he could say, "I am of the House of Molor": matay' jIH molor tuq je Or if one were speaking to Kahlor, one could say, "You are of the House of Molor": Sutay' SoH molor tuq je Literally, these are "The House of Molor and I are together" ( "we are together," "I," "House of Molor," "and"), "The House of Molor and you are together" ( "you [plural] are together," "you"). The independent pronouns ( "I" and "you" in the examples above) are always used in this construction. ====================================================================== From: "Marc Okrand" Newsgroups: msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 13:15:46 -0700 Subject: Re: yu - bIm - 'egh Good question! I didn't have my oscilloscope handy when Maltz was explaining all of this. Nor my tricorder, which I suspect would have done an even better job of analysis. I'm not a musical theorist, but from what I can figure, the first and the next are not an octave apart; they are a nonave apart. Does that help? (Actually, I suspect it's more like the charghwI' version -- though I'd have to hear it and run it by Maltz again to be sure.) =========================================================================== From: Marc Okrand Newsgroups: msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand Date: Monday, September 01, 1997 03:15 PM Subject: Re: Casual? Neal Schermerhorn wrote in article <01bcb035$3dbec900$5f492399@dtorvtwg>... > (1) Klingons do not make smalltalk. Therefore there is no word for Hello. > If a Klingon approaches you and does not immediately state his business, > you would greet him with nuqneH - that means What do you want? (Some use > this as an all-purpose greeting - but I personally don't think it's meant > to be that.) Sometimes Qapla' (Success!) is used as a salutation or as a > greeting on rare occasion. But these are all really utilitarian language - > if a Klingon did not really wish success on the other party, he most > assuredly would not say Qapla'. There's a bit more about all of this in the new book "Klingon For the Galactic Traveler" (pages 184-185), but I (and what it says in the book) agree with what Neal wrote. It is not infrequent to hear nonnative speakers of Klingon use "what do you want?" as if it meant "hello" or the like in exchanges such as: Speaker #1: nuqneH Speaker #2: nuqneH No one steeped in Klingon culture would do this, however (except in some sort of a joking context, perhaps). To begin a conversation, just start! Or approach someone and wait for him/her to say to you. If that person doesn't say anything, you probably don't want to talk to him/her anyway. =========================================================================== From: "Marc Okrand" Newsgroups: msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 13:15:51 -0700 Subject: Re: qIb lengwI' tlhIngan Hol Thanks for the nice words about the new book. I'm impressed that some of the new vocabulary there is already incorporated into these postings. SuStel charghwI' je -- muquvmoH QInmey DalI'pu'bogh tlhIH. As for how to use "be near, nearby" -- that will require some more time with Maltz. Do' Sum matlh. I would think, however, that it would work the same way as "be far." I'll see what Maltz has to say. [[eof]]