Archive of Okrandian Canon
| Author | Marc Okrand |
|---|---|
| Date | 1 September 1997 |
| Summary | Instructions on how to introduce yourself and tell somebody what family or house you come from. |
| Title | Re: family names |
| Type | newsgroup posting |
From: "Marc Okrand" <MarcOkrand@msn.com>
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 <qeylor>
> whose father is named <qeylIn>. They are from the House of Molor. What
> are the proper ways for <qeylor> 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 <qeylor, qeylIn puqloD, molor tuq>? What does Matlz say?
>
> Deborah
According to Maltz, there are at least a couple of ways to identify a Klingon's house (or <tuq>).
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" (<tay'> "be together," <je> "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
(<reH> "always," <ghot> "person," <tuqDaj> "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" (<matay'> "we are together," <jIH> "I," <molor tuq> "House of Molor," <je> "and"), "The House of Molor and you are together" (<Sutay'> "you [plural] are together," <SoH> "you"). The independent pronouns (<jIH> "I" and <SoH> "you" in the examples above) are always used in this construction.