[tlhIngan Hol] lojmItmey yISam

[De'vID]

On 16 August 2017 at 08:46, Philip Newton <philip.newton at gmail.com> wrote:
> Someone recently used {yIvoq 'ach lojmItmey yISam}.
>
> At first, I corrected the writer with {tISam} but was then told it was
> a quote from TKW:
>
>    yIvoq 'ach lojmItmey yISam
>    Trust, but locate the doors. TKW (sic for {tISam})
>
> Has this usage ever been explained?
>
> Was it a typographical error by the booksetter? A thinko by the
> author? Is it a survivor of older Klingon grammar? Or an innovation by
> some Klingons like {puqpu' tu'lu'}, similar to "Who did you see?" in
> English?

No, but considering its content, context (next to {yIvoq 'ach yI'ol}),
and the explanatory paragraph ("one must always be careful"), I'm
inclined to think it's a deliberate joke.

Note that, earlier, Okrand had translated "trust your instincts" as
{Duj tIvoqtaH} in TKD, and on p. 26 of TKW the phrase {DujlIj yIvoq}
is given, with the explanation that {Duj} "instincts" can be
grammatically singular or plural. I think someone tried to "correct"
him about that prefix, and TKW is the response. (He uses {tI-}
correctly elsewhere in the book.)

> Should the prefix be corrected to {tISam} when quoting the proverb? Or
> should the proverb be quoted as written down?

DujlIj yIvoq.

-- 
De'vID