On Wed, Apr 7, 2021 at 6:03 PM De'vID <de.vid.jonpin@gmail.com> wrote:

In TKD 4.2.2, it says that: "This suffix [{-vIp}] is rarely used with a prefix meaning 'I' or 'we'. Though it is grammatically correct, it is culturally taboo."

[...]

It's not explicitly stated, but it seems to me that a statement like "I am not afraid to fight you" would not be culturally taboo to say for a Klingon. However, in a discussion with a skilled Klingon speaker, it came up that he believes that that statement is still culturally taboo because it satisfies the description in TKD 4.2.2. I think that this is one of those cases where the TKD is giving a sketch, and the reader is supposed to work out that the opposite of a taboo statement is not taboo, but admittedly there is no evidence to support this in TKD itself.

What do others think?

I think negating the {-vIp} negates the taboo nature of using it in a first person statement. I think applying TKD's proscription without taking the {-be'} into account is unrealistic.

-- ghunchu'wI'