[tlhIngan Hol] Maltz on flipping and tipping (additions)

[Lieven L. Litaer]

Anticipating some questions, I asked a few things which Maltz confirmed
or explained as follows:

MO said okay for these examples I wrote:
If the wind blows and a sheet of paper just moves upside
down, assuming it does not fly away: {tach nav} and {nav tachmoH SuS}

Okrand wrote that {tachmoH} is used "when moving someone from a prone to
a supine position." -- Of course, it also works the other way around.
Additionally, this was only an example. The verb is NOT limited to bodies.

If you turn around in your bed, you'd say {jItach}.

For the suggested {jItach'eghmoH}, Okrand wrote:

<<<Normally, the first. You could use {jItach'eghmoH} if there were a
particular struggle or effort or accomplishment or something like that
involved, something that might prevent you from turning yourself over or
that's making it particularly hard to do.>>>

I asked why {yoy} is used for pancakes, since they have equal sides, so
there is no defined "top".

MO said:
<<<
Unless you're drawing pictures or writing on the hamburger or pancake,
you're right -- there's no official top.  But when you flip the
hamburger over, the side that was face up is now face down. It may sound
odd to say it's now upside-down, but it's definitely flipped over.
Similarly, if you turn it over again, it's weird to say it's right-side
up, but it's definitely been flipped over.  The gloss in boQwI' for
{yoymoH} is pretty good: "turn upside-down, flip, invert."
 >>>

I wrote:
I think that a {yoy} human would be head down, feet in the air.
Somehow, "upside down" sounds like when something is /incorrectly/
aligned, not just turned around like a pancake, is it?

MO said:
<<You're right about that poor human (unless you're talking about an
acrobat or something like that, in which case he or she is not poor at
all). {yoy} is not just for flat (or flat-ish) things.  Rather than
considering the upside-down orientation to be "incorrect," though,
perhaps think of it as "not the norm, not usual, not customary" or
something along those lines.>>


--
Lieven L. Litaer
aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany"
http://www.tlhInganHol.com
http://klingon.wiki/En/Hamletmachine