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Jan. 10th, 2012
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zenten
More Klingon Words from Marc Okrand
Jan. 10th, 2012 03:46 pmThe following extract itself forms part of a longer communique from Marc Okrand, creator of the Klingon language tlhIngan Hol as outlined in The Klingon Dictionary from Simon & Schuster.
"Words for bricklayer, roof maker, plumber, and so on are all based on the verb mutlh, meaning construct, assemble, put together. Someone who does this, then, is a mutlhwI'. Then specific duties can be specified:
"bricklayer ngogh mutlhwI' (ngogh brick) (so this is brick assembler or the like)
"tiler majyang mutlhwI' (majyang tile)
"roofer beb mutlhwI' (beb roof)
"plumber 'och mutlhwI' ('och conduit)
"electrician 'ul pat mutlhwI' ('ul electricity, pat system)
"The idea is that a mutlhwI' puts things together. So a ngogh mutlhwI' is not (necessarily) someone who makes bricks, but someone who takes bricks that are already made and assembles them into something (such as a building). Similarly, a beb mutlhwI' doesn't make the roof, but, rather, lays out the shingles or planks or stones or whatever the roof is made out of.
"Regarding plumber -- It turns out there is a special word for water pipe (not what you use for smoking -- the kind that carries water from place to place): qatlhDa'. Though one could say qatlhDa' mutlhwI' and be understood, the normal way to refer to someone putting in pipes (for water or anything else) is 'och mutlhwI'.
"Someone who repairs any of these things (who may or may not be the same person who installed/assembled them) is a tI'wI' (tI' repair). Most mutlhwI'pu' are also tI'wI'pu' -- but you'd be advised to check with them first.
"A carpet or a rug is tlhIm. When you lay a carpet, you don't use the verb mutlh; the appropriate verb is vel (cover, coat, mask). One can say rav vel tlhIm (the carpet covers the floor). To say lay a carpet, one says use a carpet to cover the floor, or rav velmeH tlhIm lo'. The person who lays the carpet is a velwI' (literally coverer, coater, masker). You might think that the velwI' is the carpet itself. That would make sense, but it doesn't work that way. Maltz commented that Klingon rugs are primarily decorative. The idea of a fabric floor covering being thick or soft was just bizarre to him.
"If you did say tlhIm mutlh (he/she assembled a carpet), that would mean there were pieces of fabric (or squares of carpet?) that got put together (sewn together?) to make a carpet or rug.
"tlhIm is commonly used for a fabric wall hanging (that might, for example, have a picture of the Klingon emblem on it). If a piece of cloth is displayed at the end of a pole, it is considered a joqwI' (flag); a tlhIm covers some sort of surface. Finally, tlhIm can also mean blanket. Maltz said that Klingons generally don't use blankets (he certainly doesn't), but he's seen them and, if you have to call them something, tlhIm is it."
"Words for bricklayer, roof maker, plumber, and so on are all based on the verb mutlh, meaning construct, assemble, put together. Someone who does this, then, is a mutlhwI'. Then specific duties can be specified:
"bricklayer ngogh mutlhwI' (ngogh brick) (so this is brick assembler or the like)
"tiler majyang mutlhwI' (majyang tile)
"roofer beb mutlhwI' (beb roof)
"plumber 'och mutlhwI' ('och conduit)
"electrician 'ul pat mutlhwI' ('ul electricity, pat system)
"The idea is that a mutlhwI' puts things together. So a ngogh mutlhwI' is not (necessarily) someone who makes bricks, but someone who takes bricks that are already made and assembles them into something (such as a building). Similarly, a beb mutlhwI' doesn't make the roof, but, rather, lays out the shingles or planks or stones or whatever the roof is made out of.
"Regarding plumber -- It turns out there is a special word for water pipe (not what you use for smoking -- the kind that carries water from place to place): qatlhDa'. Though one could say qatlhDa' mutlhwI' and be understood, the normal way to refer to someone putting in pipes (for water or anything else) is 'och mutlhwI'.
"Someone who repairs any of these things (who may or may not be the same person who installed/assembled them) is a tI'wI' (tI' repair). Most mutlhwI'pu' are also tI'wI'pu' -- but you'd be advised to check with them first.
"A carpet or a rug is tlhIm. When you lay a carpet, you don't use the verb mutlh; the appropriate verb is vel (cover, coat, mask). One can say rav vel tlhIm (the carpet covers the floor). To say lay a carpet, one says use a carpet to cover the floor, or rav velmeH tlhIm lo'. The person who lays the carpet is a velwI' (literally coverer, coater, masker). You might think that the velwI' is the carpet itself. That would make sense, but it doesn't work that way. Maltz commented that Klingon rugs are primarily decorative. The idea of a fabric floor covering being thick or soft was just bizarre to him.
"If you did say tlhIm mutlh (he/she assembled a carpet), that would mean there were pieces of fabric (or squares of carpet?) that got put together (sewn together?) to make a carpet or rug.
"tlhIm is commonly used for a fabric wall hanging (that might, for example, have a picture of the Klingon emblem on it). If a piece of cloth is displayed at the end of a pole, it is considered a joqwI' (flag); a tlhIm covers some sort of surface. Finally, tlhIm can also mean blanket. Maltz said that Klingons generally don't use blankets (he certainly doesn't), but he's seen them and, if you have to call them something, tlhIm is it."