KGT p. 199.One may refer to one's "romantic partner" as parmaqqaywI' (my parmaqqay),but one rarely uses the word in direct address (as in, say, parmaqqay HIghoS[parmaqqay, come here]). Instead, couples (officially married and otherwise)tend to call each other by pet names (sometimes called endearments orhypocorisms or, in Klingon, bang pongmey ["beloveds' names'"]). A bang pongis usually couple-specific--that is, the set of expressions used by one coupleis different from that used by another couple. Pet names are almost neveruttered unless the two members of the couple are alone and, therefore, areseldom known by anyone else. Indeed, one of the defining characteristics of abang pong is that it be secret, known only by the two members of the couple. Thephenomenon of the bang pong, however, is not secret. Usually, parents teachtheir children how the system works and have to give examples in doing so,though it is not known whether the example pet names are actual pet names usedby the parents doing the teaching. Sometimes, however, children learn about thecustom from other children. In particular, younger children often tell eachother pet names they have heard. A child who has a reputation for revealing petnames is usually quite popular among other children, though older Klingons, uponfinding out about his or her lack of propriety, will certainly take disciplinaryaction. As children grow older and start to experience parmaq (love, romance)themselves, they tend to become quite protective of their own bang pongmey.Primarily because of the conversations of children, but also because, despiteall precautions, one member of a couple is on rare occasion overheard saying abang pong, it is possible to give a small number of examples. A bang pong isformed by attaching -oy, the suffix indicating endearment, to an everydaynoun. Most of the resulting terms make very little sense to anyone not in theparticular relationship, and none translates well. Some pet terms are based onwords for kinds of food, such as chatlhoy and 'awje'oy. Perhaps these wordscould be rendered in Federation Standard as "soupy" and "poppy" (from "sodapop"), though neither translation conveys the intimacy and intensity of theKlingon. Other terms consist of words for weapons plus -oy: for example:yanoy, HIchoy, tajoy, jorwI'oy. A third type involves body parts,Klingon or otherwise, as in 'uSoy, 'aDoy, pIpoy, pachoy. Another termbased on a body part, Ho'oy, is one of the few that makes sense to anon-Klingon if it is remembered that Ho' is a slang term for "hero, idol"...Because of the nature of the parmaq relationship, misusing a bang pong is aserious cultural offense. This could mean, among other things, revealing a bangpong to someone other than one's parmaqqay, revealing a third party's bangpong (regardless of how this information was acquired), addressing one'sparmaqqay by the wrong pet name, or using a bang pong in a public setting.Unless a visitor gets invoved in a serious relationship with a Klingon, it isstrongly advised that one avoid saying anything that can be misinterpreted as amisused bang pong.