(p. 181, line 31) {chu'DI' maS 'ej qaStaHvIS ram} "On the night of the new moon" De'vID: Not even every Terran language refers to the first lunar phase (opposite of a "full" moon) as a "new" moon. The issue here is whether this isn't an Anglicism/Terranism, or if Klingons also say the moon is “new". MO:
{chu’DI’ maS}, of course, means “when the moon is/was new” (not “the new moon”), but your point is a good one. Klingons would probably refer to the new moon in the same way they refer to other phases of the moon.
“Full moon” {maS’e’ So’bogh pagh} is “moon that nothing hides.” “Crescent moon” (pp. 138-139 of paq’batlh) is {maS’e’ loQ So’be’bogh QIb} “moon that a shadow doesn’t slightly hide,” that is, the shadow hides most of the moon, but not all of it. What these have in common is the idea that the moon is fully or partially or not at all hidden. What’s doing/causing the hiding is of less importance. So while using {QIb} when describing phases of the moon is perfectly fine and not at all uncommon, it is not necessary. Another way of referring to a “crescent moon” is {maS loQHa’ So’lu’bogh} “moon that is considerably/appreciably hidden.” And {maS loQ So’lu’bogh} “moon that is slightly hidden” refers to a mostly full moon. Now, back to “new moon.” It follows the same pattern: {maS So’lu’chu’bogh} “moon that is perfectly hidden.” These moon phrases [sic] are descriptions. They’re commonly used, but they’re not frozen forms. So they can be manipulated grammatically. For line 31, p. 181, the idea is it’s the night when the new moon is happening (if a new moon can be said to happen), thus: {qaStaHvIS ram, maS So’lu’chu’DI’} “while the night was occuring, when the moon was perfectly hidden” or, in more natural English, “at night when the moon was new.” (end of message) Note the new adverbial {loQHa'} "considerably, appreciably". -- De'vID