Klingon word: bertlham Part of speech: noun Definition: end (of an opera, play, story, speech) Source: HQ:v12n2p8 _______________________________________________ bertlham [title of final section] (PB) (HQ 12.2:8-9): There is a difference between the end of the performance of a song or opera or play, indicated by making use of the verbs {van} and {ghang}, and the ending, or final portion, of a song or opera or play itself. For an opera, play, story, speech, and so on, the final portion is its {bertlham}. This word usually refers to the last aria or other musical portion in an opera, last speech in a play, last sentence or so of a story or an address. The {bertlham} of a well-known work is often well-known itself, as is its beginning ({bI'reS}). For a song—but only for a song—the final portion is its {'o'megh}. Parallel to {bertlham}, {'o'megh} is the final phrase or so of the song, one that brings the song to a definite conclusion. All songs have endings ({'o'meghmey}), some more elaborate or stirring than others … that portion of the song that comes at the beginning—a portion that is often so familiar that listeners know what song it is after hearing just that short portion—is the {namtun}. PUN: Bertram is the hero of Shakespeare's play "All's Well That Ends Well" SEE: bertlham taymey epilogue (n) (qep’a’ 2020) (qep’a’ 2020): Prologue is {bI'reS taymey} and epilogue is {bertlham taymey}. But it's really more complicated. {taymey} is a section of a book or play or the like that's separate from the main portion of the work. It's seldom used without {bI'reS} ("beginning") or {bertlham} ("end") unless everyone already knows what the discussion is about (so, for example, you could say {bI'reS taymey} once and then, after that in the same discussion about the same thing, you don't have to include {bI'reS} each time). Despite its description, {taymey} is not used for the appendix of a work. A {taymey} contextualizes the main work; an appendix [see {HommaH}] is considered supplemental. Maltz thought that this word was a remnant of the way stories used to be told orally, since they'd begin and end with some sort of ritual ({tay}), the details of which are lost. Even though {taymey} ends with the {-mey} "plural" suffix, {taymey} is a frozen form and is considered singular. It's okay to say {taymeymey} should the need arise. SEE ALSO: Dor end (v) van end (an event) (v) ghang end [an event] prematurely (v) MUDD: Do know what the penalty for fraud is on Deneb V? SPOCK: The guilty party has his choice: death by electrocution, death by gas, death by phaser, death by hanging. MUDD: The key word in your entire peroration, Mr Spock, was... “death”. [TOS “I, Mudd”] JADZIA: Not every relationship has to end like a Klingon opera. WORF: No. Just the ones that are important. [DS9 “Let He Who is Without Sin…”] Anyone know of other frozen plural forms that are considered singular? Off the top of my head In can think of {mebpa'mey} "hotel" (lit. "rooms") and {mIvwa'mey} "tally, results, score (lit. "scars"). -- Voragh, Ca'Non Master of the Klingons Please contribute relevant vocabulary from the last year or two. I’ve fallen behind in updating my files and adding cross-references for related words.