[tlhIngan Hol] Is the given meaning definite ?

[De'vID]

On Fri, 8 Mar 2019 at 15:27, SuStel <sustel at trimboli.name> wrote:

> On 3/8/2019 9:00 AM, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
>
> To illustrate my obscure point, I will use the verb Say'qu'moH and an
> ancient cat.
>
> So, lets say we just spent a fortune to acquire an ancient cat, and
> the first thing we do is to make it very clean..
>
> {vIghro' tIQ wIje'ta'bogh wISay'qu'moH}
> we make the ancient cat which we have bought very clean
>
> Right ?
>
> But the problem is, that Say'qu'moH has been given as "to sterilize".
>
> When we're given something like this, where a word plus suffixes is
> translated in a way that an analysis of word plus suffixes would not yield,
> I take it to mean that the combination has special meaning to Klingons
> through whatever quirk of language evolution, and the meaning of the
> components is overridden. If you say *vIghro' wISay'qu'moH,* you're
> saying you're sterilizing the cat, even if you just wanted to say you're
> making the cat very clean.
>

sterilize /ˈstɛrɪlʌɪz/ v.
1. make (something) free from bacteria or other living microorganisms.
2. deprive (a person or animal) of the ability to produce offspring,
typically by removing or blocking the sex organs.

jIyweS wa'DIch neH 'oS {Say'qu'moH}. jIyweS cha'DIch 'oSbe'bej.

When you say {vIghro' wISay'qu'moH}, you are in fact saying that you're
making the cat very clean - clean to the point of being free from bacteria.
You're not saying that you're giving it a vasectomy or hysterectomy.

Just pointing this out as "sterilize a cat (an animal)" has a specific
idiomatic meaning in English.

-- 
De'vID
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