[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: yItlhHa'

[nIqolay Q]

On Tue, Mar 26, 2019 at 2:55 AM De'vID <de.vid.jonpin at gmail.com> wrote:

> Yes, that would be how I read that sentence.
>
> That sense of {jatlhHa'} (undo speaking), that is, "taking back one's
> words", reminds me of {nobHa'}, which bothered me when I first encountered
> it. In the {nobHa'} example, {Huch nobHa'bogh verenganpu''e' yIvoqQo'}, the
> giver isn't the one undoing the giving; the recipient is. Before that
> example, I might've used {tlhapHa'} in that sentence instead of {nobHa'},
> or at least been undecided between them.
>

My personal explanation is that the recipient has to initiate the un-giving
because they're the one in possession of the item now, and that un-giving,
like giving, is supposed to be voluntary. Though it's probably just an
idiomatic interpretation; the *-Ha'* suffix seems to create a lot of those.
I don't think *jatlhHa'* in the sense of "take back saying something" would
work the same way.

On another note, using both meanings of *-Ha'* on the same verb provides
some fun opportunities for wordplay:
*bIjatlhHa'pu' 'ej DajatlhHa'laHbe'. **You have said the wrong thing and
you can't take it back.*
(This sentence is probably not very beginner-friendly.)
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