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2002-06-holqed-11-2.txt«
| Author
| Marc Okrand
|
| Date
| June 2002
|
| Publisher
| Klingon Language Institute, Flourtown, PA, ISSN 1061-2327
|
| Source
| HolQeD 11:2, pages 8–9
|
| Summary
| Maltz tells us something about how to discuss flying and piloting of airplanes and shuttlecrafts.
|
| Title
| matlh jup mu’mey
|
| Type
| article
|
{matlh jup mu'mey}
Marc Okrand
At the
{qep'a' chorghDIch}
Robyn Stewart and Eric
Andeen were inducted into
the venerable Order of the Friends of
Maltz,
and thus permitted to send a
query to their new friend,
requesting
his insight on a specific word or
term.
Results of the first of these
requests,
"bird,
"
appeared in
<
{HolQeD}
>
10(4)
.
Starfleet officials
have at least released Maltz's reply,
as
delivered by courier from the
Federation.
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Having been grounded for
much too long
(or at least feeling
that way)
,
Maltz was thrilled to learn
that his newest friend wants to be
able to talk about flying,
in
particular about
"attitudes and
movements"
of aircraft.
Maltz thought that the best
word for
<operate
(an aircraft)
>
was
{'or}
-
-
-
so the person who does this
would be the
{'orwI',
}
<one who operates
(an aircraft)
>
.
In general,
{'or}
would
not be used to refer to the activities
of the captain of a spacecraft,
or
even those of it's helmsman,
but
Maltz said it could be used for the
controlling of a shuttlecraft.
He was
comfortable translating
{'or}
as
<pilot>
(the verb)
and
{'orwI'}
as
<pilot>
(the
noun)
.
The
<attitude>
of a plane is its
orientation relative to something,
such the
{ghangwI'}
<horizon>
.
<Be in an attitude>
is
{lol}
.
Derived
forms in fairly common usage are
{lolchu'}
<be in a correct attitude>
(
{
-chu'}
<clearly,
perfectly>
)
,
{loltaH}
<maintain an
attitude>
(
{
-taH}
<continuous>
)
,
and even
{lolchu'taH}
<maintain a correct
attitude>
.
To maneuver the aircraft to
be in some attitude or other is to
{lolmoH}
the vehicle
(
{
-moH}
<cause>
)
,
as
in:
{qughmeH Duj vIlolmoH}
I put the vessel in the attitude
for cruise
(or cruising)
(
{qugh}
<cruise>
,
{
-meH}
<for>
,
{Duq}
<vessel>
,
{vI-
}
<I
[do something to]
it>
)
.
The verb
{lol}
can also apply to
people or animals.
When it does,
it
is usually translated
<be in a stance>
or
<be in a pose>
.
Thus,
it is used in such
sentences as:
{DuHIvmeH SuvwI' lol ghaH}
the warrior is in a stance
to attack you
(
{Du-
}
<he/she
[does something to]
you>
,
{HIv}
<attack>
,
{
-meH}
for,
{SuvwI'}
<warrior>
,
{ghaH}
<he,
she>
)
.
The verb
{lol}
is also used
frequently when talking about
martial arts.
In fact,
there is a noun
{lol}
that refers to a specific position
in the martial art form Mok'bara.
Weirdly,
although Maltz said he
knew of no noun meaning
"attitude,
"
the noun
{lol}
may show
up in
{lolSeHcha}
<attitude control
thrusters>
.
Although the middle
element of this wold,
{SeH}
,
is
certainly the verb
<control>
,
the full
etymology of this word is far from
clear.
(If the final element,
{cha}
,
is,
in fact,
{cha}
<torpedoes>
,
this may shed
some light on early versions of the
device.
On the other hand,
something else may be going on
here;
maybe
{lolSeHcha}
is shortened
from a longer construction.
Maltz
didn't know the answer,
but he said
it was an interesting question.
)
When the nose of an airplane or
similar craft moves to the left or the
right,
the plane is said to
{Der}
<yaw>
.
When the plane banks or rolls to
one side or the other so that,
say,
the left wing is pointed somewhat
(or even a lot)
upwards while the
right wing is pointed somewhat
(or a
lot)
downwards,
or vice versa,
it is
said to
{ron}
<roll>
.
And when the nose
of the plane moves up or down,
the
plane is said to
{tor}
pitch.
(the word
{tor}
also means
<kneel>
,
which Maltz
thought was apt,
since if a four-legged animal is able to kneel with
either its hind legs or its front legs,
it
is able to pitch or tilt up or down.
)
All of these words can be used
with the suffix
{
-meH}
<cause>
in such
constructions as:
{Duj ronmeH 'orwI'}
the pilot banks the vessel
(
{Duj}
<vessel>
,
{ronmeH}
<cause to roll>
,
{'orwI'}
<pilot>
)
.
When the plane moves up or
down
(not when the nose points up
or down,
but when the plane
increases or decreases altitude,
as if
the whole plane is being pushed up
or down)
,
it is said to
{jIm}
<heave>
.
When it moves to the side
(not
when the nose points to the left or
right,
but when the plane slides to
the left or right without otherwise
changing its orientation)
,
it is said to
{Dav}
<sway>
.
And if it suddenly moves
forwards or backwards,
it is said to
{jer}
<surge>
.
The attitude of an aircraft is
often talked about in terms of
angles.
The word for
<angle>
is
{tajvaj}
.
Klingon
{taH}
means
<be at a negative
angle>
.