[tlhIngan Hol] I've had it with the finger verbs !

Rhona Fenwick qeslagh at hotmail.com
Mon Aug 1 09:35:39 PDT 2016


jIjatlhpu' jIH:

> and given the importance in Klingon society of the House, which is more like a

> clan or small tribe than a family as we would think of it, we shouldn't be surprised

> that there is such a complex array of kinship terms.


mujang mayqel, jatlh:

> This is a strong argument and I accept it. Thank you for taking the

> time to explain all this.


qay'be'qu'!


(poD vay')


taH:

> Unfortunately, I can't learn them, because my greek mind just isn't

> wired to think that way ; it sounds strange, I know..


Not at all strange. You were raised in a certain culture with a certain conception of family structure (as are we all). It's only natural that you'd struggle with the Klingon terms precisely because they're quite different from what one sees in Greek and English society. Kinship is just one of those areas of language that we tend to think of as a fundamental system but is actually very arbitrary in some ways, like colours and also counting.


It'll fall into place for you eventually :) Perhaps it might help if you mentally connect labels to people in your own family, if you have them? Who's the ghubDaQ of your family, who are your tey'pu', and so forth. I'm lucky to have at least one each of the eight types of aunts and uncles, for instance, and it helps me work the relationships out once I remember that Donna is my 'e'mamnal, Brett is my 'IrneH, and so forth.


QeS 'utlh
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