[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: tetlh

Steven Boozer sboozer at uchicago.edu
Wed Dec 2 13:59:47 PST 2020


Klingon Word of the Day for Saturday, November 28, 2020

Klingon word: tetlh
Part of speech: verb
Definition: roll
Source: tlhIngan-Hol Mailing List -  De'vID - 01 March 2019
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(De’vID < MO, 3/01/2019: (“down a hill like a log”) 

AFAIK never used in a sentence.

SEE:
tetlh  		roll,  scroll,  list (n)

(st.klingon, 7/09/1998):  Thus, one would usually say {naD tetlh gher} "he/she compiles the Commendation List" or "he/she writes the Commendation List". (Maltz laughed at, but accepted, {Soj tetlh gher} for "he/she writes the grocery list".) One would probably {gher}, rather than {qon}, a suggested list of readings, a gazetteer, a simple menu, or the instructions for assembling a toy (assuming the latter is not really an exercise in creative writing).
 
(KGT 182):  in the ceremony to induct new members into the Order of the Bat'leth ({betleH 'obe'}), the highest honor that the government bestows on a Klingon, the presiding official, usually the leader of the Klingon High Council, first reads a name from the {naD tetlh} (Commendation List), always calling out the inductee's name in the most formal way (given name plus father's name, such as {tI'vIS barot puqloD} [T'vis, son of Barot]).
 
(MO email to Lieven, 06/08/2013):  While {tetlh} can refer to a scroll, it can also refer to anything rolled up scroll-like (like toilet paper). The meaning of {tetlh}, over time, got extended to refer not only to the scroll/roll, but the contents of what may be written on a scroll and from there to refer to the sort of thing that may be traditionally written on a scroll, such as a "list" of things. So, even if not written on a scroll, a shopping list could be a {tetlh}. So could a ship's manifest. A {Qumran}, on the other hand, is only a scroll. And it has connotations of something important or sacred or ancient, though a {Qumran} need not be all three of those things. When a scroll is a part of a ceremony of some kind, it's typically referred to as a {Qumran}, not a {tetlh}, even though it is a {tetlh}, so if you called it that, you wouldn't be wrong, but it might sound inappropriate. […] In short -- any {Qumran} is a {tetlh}, but every {tetlh} is not a {Qumran}.

(qep’a’ 2015):  When asked about navigating lists or events, [Maltz] gave us {vorgh} "be previous" (opposite of {veb} "be next").  Can also use {nungbogh} ({nung} "precede") …

(HQ 12.2:9):  for the beginning of a list (of names or words, for example, whether spoken out loud or written on a scroll), one would say simply {pong wa'DIch} "first name" or {mu' wa'DIch} "first word". For the end, one could say {pong HochDIch} "last name" or {mu' HochDIch} "last word", but one could also use a special term for the end of the list, {natlIS}. 
 
(DevID < MO, 2/10/2018):  "Be sorted" is {patlh}, which also means "have a rank of".  So "sort" is {patlhmoH}, also meaning "rank".  The object of {patlhmoH} is not a list (as a whole) but the things in the list, the things to be ranked or sorted.  {Sal} and {ghIr} cannot be used for sort order.  To sort a list of English words alphabetically (or reverse alphabetically), use constructions like {wa’DIch a, HochDIch z} or {wa’DIch z, HochDIch a}.  For a list of Klingon words, it would be {wa’DIch bay, HochDIch qaghwI’, wa’DIch qaghwI’, HochDIch bay}.  You’d use similar constructions to sort by date or whatever.  I’m assuming that, for your purposes, you wouldn’t sort by anything other than something that can be put in a specific order – that is, not sorting by color, for example..." And to the question of whether *{yoymoH} could be used for reversing a list, [Okrand] replied: "No. Use {DopmoH} "cause to be opposite"." 

SEE ALSO:
chabal tetlh 	wish list (n)
 naD tetlh 	commendation list (n)
Soj tetlh 	grocery list (n)

Qumran 	scroll (n)
HIDjolev 	menu (n)
mem 		catalog (n)
paq 		book (n)
ghu'lIS 		entry in a list (n)
natlIS 		last item in a list (n)
gher		compile (v)

[Feel free to mention any relevant vocabulary or usage notes from
 the last year or so. I’ve fallen woefully behind in updating my notes.]
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons




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