Archive of Okrandian Canon
| Author | Marc Okrand |
|---|---|
| Date | September 1999 |
| Publisher | Klingon Language Institute, Flourtown, PA, ISSN 1061-2327 |
| Source | HolQeD 8:3, pages 2–4 |
| Title | matlh juppu’ mu’mey |
| Type | article |
Marc Okrand
At the {qep'a' javDIch} Alan Anderson, Will Martin, Mark Shoulson, d'Armond Speers, and Rich Yampell were honored for their continuing service to the mission and goals of the KLI. Each received the title {matlh jupna'}. And, as a friend, each was given the opportunity to ask Maltz (via an intermediary) for a single word. Maltz's reply (again, via intermdiary) went beyond providing simply Klingon glosses for the specific English words, and often included additional terms and examples.
1. top and bottom
The word for "top" is {yor}. This refers to the top side or top face of an object, such as the top of a box or the top of a table or even the top of one's head. It is not the word used for "lid" or "cover" or "cap" (as in "lid of a jar") or removable (and reusable) top of a box. The word for this kind of "top" or "lid" or "cover" is {yuvtlhe'}.
Similarly, {yor} is not the word for the inside of the top of something. If one were sitting under a table, the (presumably) flat surface above one is termed the {'aqroS}.
There are two special terms for the top of a room, or "ceiling." {rav'eq} refers to the ceiling of any room (though, more narrowly, it refers to the ceiling of a room that has a room above it, as in a multistory structure); {pa' beb} refers specifically to the ceiling of a room which is on the top (or only) story of a structure. It is possible to use {'aqroS} to refer to a ceiling, though the other two terms are more common.
The word for "bottom," the counterpart of {yor}, is {pIrmuS}. This word refers to the underside of something, not the interior bottom (such as the bottom of a well or the bottom of a bowl where a few drops of milk remain after eating cereal). The word for the interior bottom of something is {bIS'ub}. If an item is located in the bottom of a box, it is located in the box's {bIS'ub}. If something is found underneath a box, it is found beneath the box's {pIrmuS}.
2. too much
The adverbial {tlhoy} means <overly, to an excessive degree>. It is used in such sentences as:
{tlhoy jISop} I eat too much / I eat excessively
{tlhoy bIQong} you sleep too much / you sleep excessively
When {tlhoy} is used, it denotes that the action expressed by the verb ({Sop} <eat>, {Qong} <sleep>) is what is being overly done or done too much. Thus, the sentence:
{tlhoy qagh vISop} I eat too much gagh / I eat gagh excessively / I overeat gagh
expresses the notion that the eating is excessive, not that the amount of gagh is. (Note that although it is possible to say this, it is not something anybody would be likely to ever say). Similarly,
{tlhoy yIHmey vIlegh} I see too many tribbles
means <I overly see tribbles> (perhaps this could be used if one meant something like "I see tribbles far too frequently and in far too many places"). To express the idea of "too much gagh" or "too many tribbles," the verb {'Iq} <be too many, be too much> is used adjectivally. For example:
{yIHmey 'Iq vIlegh} I see too many tribbles
{qagh 'Iq vISop} I eat too much gagh
Sometimes, the word {law'qu'} <be very many> (formed from {law'} <be many> plus {-qu'}, the emphatic suffix) is translated "be too many." If the context is clear, this is acceptable, but if it is important to stress the idea of "overly many, overly much, more than there ought to be," {tlhoy} or {'Iq} is usually employed.
3. ago / from now
Klingon has special words to refer to units of time (such as "day" and "year") preceding or following the current time. Words of this type which are already well-known are:
{Hu'} days ago
{leS} days from now
{ben} years ago
{nem} years from now
These words are used with numbers to indicate the number of time units ago (days ago, years ago) or time units from now (days from now, years from now).
Thus {wa'Hu'} is <yesterday> (one day before now, one day ago), {cha'Hu'} is <day before yesterday> (two days before now, two days ago), {wejnem} is <three years from now>, and so on. Another pair of words of this type refers to months:
{wen} months ago
{waQ} months from now
Thus, {loSwen} is <four months ago> and {wa'waQ} is <next month> (one month from now). As far as is known, there are no other terms associated with specific units of time (in the way {Hu'} and {leS} are associated with {jaj} <day>).
For other units of time (seconds, minutes, hours weeks), two more general words are used:
{ret} time period ago
{pIq} time period from now
(One might say that these are associated with the word {poH} <period of time>.). These words follow the more specific time units. For example, <two minutes ago> is {cha' tup ret}, literally "two minute time-period-ago." <Two minutes from now> is {cha' tup pIq}. (It is also possible, though not necessary, to use the plural suffixes with the time units if there is more than one of them: {cha' tupmey ret}, {cha' tupmey pIq}.)
The words {ret} and {pIq} could also be used with days, months, and years (e.g., {wej jaj ret} <three days ago>, rather than {wejHu'}), but utterances of this type are not particularly common, sound a bit archaic, and are usually restricted to rather formal settings.
With longer time periods, such as a century ({vatlh DIS poH}), millennium ({SaD DIS poH}), or a period of 10,000 years ("myriad," perhaps) ({netlh DIS poH}), the words {ret} or {pIq} may be used in place of {poH}, e.g., {cha' vatlh DIS poH} <two centuries>, but {cha' vatlh DIS ret} <two centuries ago>. The phrase {cha' vatlh ben} would mean "200 years ago." The choice of construction depends on what is being emphasized: in this case, the total number of centuries (two) or the total number of years (200).
4. jealousy
The verb {ghal} means <be jealous (of), envy>. It is used in such sentences as:
{jIghal} I am jealous
{choghal} you envy me / you are jealous of me
{torgh vIghal} I am jealous of Torg
There is also an idiomatic phrase which conveys the idea of jealousy: {SuD veqlargh mInDu'.} Literally, this means <Fek'lhr's eyes are yellow/green>, but it is used to express the idea that somebody is jealous. It would be used in an exchange such as:
A: {loSmaH romuluSngan
SuvwI'pu' HoHta' qeng.}
B: {SuD veqlargh mInDu'.}
A: Kang killed 40 Romulan
warriors.
B: Somebody is jealous!
(Fek'lhr's eyes are
yellow/green.)
Speaker "B" is saying that speaker "A" is jealous of Kang.
5. then
The adverbial {ghIq} means <then> in the sense of <and then, after that, by then, subsequently> and the like. It is used as in the following examples:
{Soppu'. ghIq tlhutlhpu'.} He/she ate. Then (after that) he/she drank.
{wam chaH. ghIq Soj luvut.} They hunt. Then (after that) they prepare food.
{wa'leS maghob. ghIq malop.} Tomorrow we will do battle. Then (after that) we'll celebrate.
It is possible to join the sentences with a conjunction such as {'ej} <and> or {'ach} <but>:
{wam chaH 'ej ghIq Soj luvut.} They hunt and then they prepare food.
{tlhoy Sop 'ach ghIq Qongchu'.} He/she eats too much, but then he/she sleeps soundly.
A final note: Maltz was honored by the fact that he now has official Friends and endeavored to provide the information that they were looking for. If, however, there was a misinterpretation of any of their requests such that they didn't get quite what they wanted, blame not Maltz or his Friends, but the messenger.