[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: QIt

[Will Martin]

Yeah, but it gets really interesting when you try to say, “My ship is faster than your ship.”

I mean, I like recasting things, but this feels worse than not having a question word for “which” and people whined about that for years. 

{Do qaD lujeSchugh DujlIj DujwIj je, Qapbej DujwIj!}

{ngoQmajDaq DujlIj Sum law’ DujwIj Sum puS ‘ach nom ghoSlaHqu’mo’ DujwIj, pawlaHpa’ DujlIj, pawta’ DujwIj, jay’!} [seems a little wordy for competitive banter]

{qIbDaq DujwIj nom ghoSlaHghach Doj law’ Hoch Doj puS!} [Han Solo would probably look askance at his Klingon translator after THAT translation, though one might argue that it does a decent job of getting to the core of the boast.]

> On Nov 8, 2021, at 10:58 AM, SuStel <sustel at trimboli.name> wrote:
> 
> 
> On 11/8/2021 10:29 AM, Steven Boozer wrote:
>> I assume that charghwI’ was responding to this post when Marc Okrand was asked how to say "a fast ship":
>>  
>> (MO, qepHom 2012 [via Lieven 11/22/2012]):  Maltz was unaware of an adjective meaning “fast” (or “slow” for that matter). He said in Klingon you wouldn't say that something is fast - you'd say it moves fast. So instead of “You have a fast ship”, you could say {nom leng DujlIj} “Your ship travels fast” or {nom leng Duj Daghajbogh} “The ship that you have travels fast.” If “your fast ship” is supposed to be the subject or object of a sentence, you say something like {tInqu' nom lengbogh DujlIj} “Your ship that travels fast is very big” (or, less literally, “Your fast ship is very big”) or {nom lengbogh DujlIj vIlegh} “I see your ship that travels fast” (or “I see your fast ship”). 
>> 
>> Presumably this method works for slow ships as well.  <g>
> I didn't remember this bit of canon, but this was going to be my response as well. The only time the lack of a verb for be fast is a problem is when you want to compare speeds — nom leng travel fast doesn't fit into the Q of a comparative. But otherwise, there is really no issue here. A fast ship is a nom lengbogh Duj or a nom vIHbogh Duj. To say That ship is fast, say nom leng Dujvetlh or nom vIH Dujvetlh or something like that. And the verb you attach nom to doesn't have to be leng or vIH. You could say nom nIn natlhbogh QuQ gas-guzzling engine and nom bumbogh nav va'chum fast-absorbing paper towel (nom woHbogh woHwI'!).
> 
> And of course it works for slow as well. In fact, it works for most adverbials.
> 
> -- 
> SuStel
> http://trimboli.name
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