July 2025 - tlhIngan-Hol

Buttons and pedals and knobs. Oh myyyyy!
by janSIy . 18 Aug '25

18 Aug '25

I guess with the qep'a' just a week away Dr. Okrand's mind is on the details of the Klingon language and he has been having in-depth discussions with Maltz. He sent me an answer to a question I asked about a year ago. And so, here, I share the answers with you... * The distinction between {tI’var} and {leQ} is not primarily foot vs. hand, though that’s often part of it. It’s the way the mechanisms work. * {leQ} refers to a device that you move in some direction (up or down, left or right: flip a switch, press a button) and, as a result of doing this, something happens (the light goes on, a doorbell rings). With some {leQmey}, some functions are accomplished by continuing to put pressure on the device (keep sliding the light switch until the lights dim to a desired level, keep pushing the power button until the computer comes back on), but then you let go and whatever outcome the switch was supposed to effect has come about; you don’t have to do anything more unless or until you want to change the outcome. * By extension, {leQ} is also a button on a touchscreen even though nothing physically moves. * In some (very) old cars, you’d turn the high-beam headlights on by pushing a button on the car’s floor with your foot. It was a button, not a pedal. And though you operated it with your foot, it would be a {leQ}. * With a {tI’var}, it’s generally the case that you have to keep pressure on the device so that it continues to do what you want it to do. Yes, you can release the gas pedal and the car keeps going, but it’s no longer accelerating, which is what pushing the gas pedal causes. (With cruise control, you’ve taken controlling-by-pedal out of the mix.) * {’olDop} and {jI’ev} are distinguished by how you use them (not what they’re used for). {’olDop} is the block you step on when you pedal a bike (not the whole mechanism); it’s definitely a foot thing. {jI’ev} is the thing you grab onto when turning a crank (also operating a door latch); it’s a hand thing. * Having said that, if an acrobat in a circus rides a bike standing on his head and operates the pedals with his hands, they’re still {’olDopmey}. I followed up with: So the difference between {'olDop} and {jI'ev} is pressing on it versus grasping hold of it? They both seem to turn cranks, spindles, or axles, but it seems that the {'olDop} is turned by pressing on the "block" and {jI'ev} is rotated by grasping the handle whether it is in line with the handle like a doorknob, turned 90° like a lever door handle, or perhaps even set on a crank. So, could one of those old-time engine cranks be called a {jI'ev}? And Dr. Okrand responded: * Yes. And you'd {ghujmoH} it. janSIy

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Re: [tlhIngan Hol] More puns
by James Landau 17 Aug '25

17 Aug '25

Several more I figured out (and some I only sort of figured out): cheyIt (thorn): T-aitch backwards. Like the letter thorn. chIb (be advantaged over): "Bxtch" backwards, as in "I've made it my bxtch". Delnga (gradient): "Angled" backwards. jIltob'or (classic): This is "your robot" backwards, but does anyone get how this ties in with the concept of being a classic? law'wan (inertia): "Law one", i.e. Newton's First Law. pa'nItlh (aisle): "Clean up" backwards. As in the PA announcement: "Josh, clean up aisle 24!" poH (session, shift): "Hop"-ing from one employee's shift to another. qIj'am (slate): Magic slate. ra''ab (market): Backwards, *ba' 'ar*, how much sit. Or "How much is it?", a question for the market to grapple with. roqlIpe' (civilian): "Apple core" backwards, but how do apple cores relate to civilian life? Selrach (ladder): Obviously "Charles" backwards, but googling didn't find the connection. Does Marc Okrand know a Charles Ladder (or Charles Latter)? teb (compensate, monetarily): "Bet" backwards. tetlhnagh (exam, test): "Gauntlet" backwards. The gauntlet was originally an ordeal. vo'nIng (image): No apparent connection to German "Wohnung", residence or apartment. My best guess is that *ngIn 'ov* is to compete roughly, and "image" is part of "scrimmage". Do all of you think this is it? yalqom (mop): Backwards, this is *moq lay*, or "beat-L." The Beatles had mops (the hairstyle, that is). 'abched (vitamin): Vitamins A, B, C, D, and E. 'erQen (phrase): "Phrase" os a homophone of "frays". *Qen* means to be naked, like a frayed object. "Er" is the German word for "he", which suggests that it's the form of a verb you'd use with "he", i.e. the third person singular present. Like adding -s onto "fray". Does this sound convincing?

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Re: [tlhIngan Hol] More puns
by James Landau 16 Aug '25

16 Aug '25

>Message: 1 >Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2025 22:14:08 +0200 >From: e.t(a)qeylis.net >To: tlhingan-hol(a)kli.org >Subject: Re: [tlhIngan Hol] More puns >Message-ID: <dc9a6d22ecf3d949cdfd102806280b56(a)qeylis.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed >>I googled Charles Ladder and found two interesting results: "The >Ladder", song and album by Charles Johnson and "Jacob's Ladder", a song >by Tina Charles. Does anyone know Marc Okrand's taste in music? The Beatles, obviously. He even made a (wordplay) pun with the word "Beatle" this year. He's also referenced "Boris the Spider", "Splish Splash", and "Walk the Llama, Llama". Most of his song references are from the oldies and classic rock eras, with that song from a 2000 Disney movie being an outlier. I looked up Charles Johnson on Wikipedia and couldn't figure out which Charles Johnson it was who did "The Ladder". It remains a mystery, much like the connection between the name "Danny" and headphones. And how Chris Henley relates to vanadium beats me. It's great that we now have all of the first twenty chemical elements, but the element name puns are among the hardest to crack.

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Klingon Word of the Day: Su'wan ghew (noun)
by Klingon Word of the Day 31 Jul '25

31 Jul '25

Klingon Word of the Day for Thursday, July 31, 2025 Klingon word: Su'wan ghew Part of speech: noun Definition: butterfly Source: The Little Prince This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

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Klingon Word of the Day: ghargh (noun)
by Klingon Word of the Day 30 Jul '25

30 Jul '25

Klingon Word of the Day for Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Klingon word: ghargh Part of speech: noun Definition: serpent, snake, worm Source: TKD This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

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Klingon Word of the Day: rop'a' (noun)
by Klingon Word of the Day 29 Jul '25

29 Jul '25

Klingon Word of the Day for Tuesday, July 29, 2025 Klingon word: rop'a' Part of speech: noun Definition: plague, epidemic, pandemic, major disease Source: This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

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Klingon Word of the Day: HeH 'alqen (noun)
by Klingon Word of the Day 28 Jul '25

28 Jul '25

Klingon Word of the Day for Sunday, July 27, 2025 Klingon word: HeH 'alqen Part of speech: noun Definition: hem Source: qep'a' 32 This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

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Klingon Word of the Day: Hur'Iqngan (noun)
by Klingon Word of the Day 28 Jul '25

28 Jul '25

Klingon Word of the Day for Monday, July 28, 2025 Klingon word: Hur'Iqngan Part of speech: noun Definition: Hur'q (person) Source: KGT (216 KE, 245 EK) This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

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The word for "synaesthesia"
by James Landau 26 Jul '25

26 Jul '25

Is it *nguDHIj* or *nguHDIj*? It's not clear from the word list. BTW, this is a condition that I have, so I was delighted when someone put it on the chabal tetlh, and delighted again when we received that word this year!

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Klingon Word of the Day: yej (noun)
by Klingon Word of the Day 26 Jul '25

26 Jul '25

Klingon Word of the Day for Saturday, July 26, 2025 Klingon word: yej Part of speech: noun Definition: assembly, council Source: TKD This Klingon Word of the Day is brought to you by qurgh (qurgh(a)kli.org)

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