[tlhIngan Hol] Performance of a ghuQ

[Steven Boozer]

jevreH's question got overlooked today amidst the other threads.  
Here's Okrand's longish post to QeS from March 2017:

  With {bom}, there's always musicality. The music may be provided by voice alone or by voice plus a musical instrument (or other thing acting in that role). (Maltz wasn't sure of the word for instrumental music not associated with lyrics or singing, probably because this is less common than vocal music, accompanied or not. He'll get back to me, he says.) A {bom} could be melodious in the sense we normally think of it, singing perhaps accompanied by one or more musical instruments. Or it could be just rhythmic, perhaps accompanied by a drum of some sort. So, yes, a rap song is a {bom}. Rhythm (as defined by Klingons as only they can) is essential. A cheer at a sporting event or political rally is a {bom} (not just "Go!" or "Run!" or "Hooray!" but things like "Here we go, big team, here we go!" repeated rhythmically… and endlessly). […] A {bom}'s lyrics ({bom mu'mey}) need not rhyme, though they can and often do. (The libretto to the opera 'u' has very little if any rhyming.)
    A {ghuQ}, on the other hand, may be rhythmic or not, and it may rhyme or not. The focus is on the words. It's more complex, of course, because a good poem uses words that are chosen for their affect when they come together. That's "rhythm" of a sort, I suppose, but not the kind of rhythm you can tap your foot to. A {ghuQ} is typically recited with no musical accompaniment. If there is music, the music doesn't necessarily (or even usually) match the {ghuQ) — it may complement it, but it's not the musical version of the {ghuQ}.
    “Sometimes someone will write music for which an already-existing {ghuQ} is the words. Then a {ghuQ} has become a {bom}. Or, more accurately, there is a {bom} version or adaptation of the {ghuQ}. If someone recites the words of a {bom} but does not sing it (someone like Shatner, maybe), that's a recitation of the {bom mu'mey}; it's not a {ghuQ}.
    “Generally speaking, a {bom} is something you sing and/or hear, but other than for scholarly reasons (or when you're learning the words), you're not likely to read a printed version of its lyrics (or music, for that matter). A {ghuQ} may be spoken aloud (and therefore heard), but one might also just read one.
 
--
Voragh



-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffrey Clark

Is there any canon source for the correct verb to use when reciting a ghuQ?

I can see very valid arguments for both bom and jatlh. I was wondering if there was a specific source that had a verb that could give insight.

Personally, I lean towards bom. Since Klingon used qonwI’ for both a music composer and a ghuQ composer, I don’t see why “singing” in Klingon culture has to involve intoned words (actually, it’s a strange line to talk about in academic circles because the same question can be asked in English in many modern musical contexts…).

—jevreH