Archive of Okrandian Canon
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From: MarcOkrand@msn.com
Newsgroups: msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand
Date: December 12, 1996
Kenneth --I apologize for taking so long to get back to you on this. But, anyway, here are my (grammatical, not philosophical) thoughts on age.
The word ben can be used to mean "years old," but in Klingon, one doesn't say "I am x years old."
The phrase loSmaH ben jIH (loSmaH "40," ben "years ago," jIH "I"), if anything, would mean "40-year-old me" or the like. It would parallel cha' vatlh ben HIq "Two Century Old Wine" (cha' "two," vatlh "hundred," ben "years ago," HIq "wine, liquor"). (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the word DIS "year" is in that phrase on "Power Klingon.")
"I am 40 years old" would be expressed as:
loSmaH ben jIboghpu'
This is "I was born 40 years ago" (loSmaH "40," ben "years ago," jI- "I," bogh "be born," -pu' "perfective"). As is normal in Klingon sentences, the time element (in this case, loSmaH ben "40 years ago") comes first.
Hope this helps.