Verb
English: urge, advocate, endorse
Source: qepHom 2022
KLCP Level: 3
See Also:
Notes
Question: How does one differentiate between need to/must/have to and should/ought to in Klingon? There is a rather big difference between "I need to do something" (because otherwise something bad will happen) and "I should do something" (because it's the honourable thing to do).
For "should" or "ought," make use of tlheb "urge" as in:
qagh vISop net tlheb
"I should eat gagh."
(It is urged that I eat gagh.)
qagh DaSop 'e' vItlheb
"You should eat gagh (in my opinion)."
(I urge you to eat gagh.)
qagh vISop 'e' vItlheb
"I should eat gagh."
(I know it's the right thing for me to do)
(I urge me to eat gagh)
Note that the object of tlheb is the thing (activity) being urged, not the person being urged. That is, you don't say something like qatlheb (presumably, "I urge you").
The construction is always S 'e'/net tlheb, where S is a sentence whose subject is the person being urged to do whatever the verb is referring to.
For "need to" and so on, of course, use the suffix -nIS.
Asked: Can I say this with the following meaning?
jISop 'e' Datlheb'a'
"Should I eat?"
(Do you think I should eat?)
Yes.
Asked: So I see a connection to the opinion of the second subject. net tlheb is a general statement, while 'e' tlheb X means that person X thinks that the subject of the sentence should do something. Is that right?
Right. Almost always, the subject of tlheb is "I" or "you" (when it's not net tlheb), but a third-person subject is possible.
Asked: Does tlheb imply communication like the English word "urge"? For example, if I'm talking privately with my friend about politics, can I say
Qojbe' Qang 'e' vItlheb.
"I think the Chancellor should not wage war."
The literal English translation "I urge the Chancellor to not wage war" implies that I have communicated my wish to the Chancellor. Does the Klingon have the same connotation,
or can I use it like above?
Klingon does not have that connotation. In Klingon, the object of tlheb is not a person - it's the activity or position being suggested or encouraged or promoted as being proper.
English doesn't have an exact equivalent for this word, and "urge" may not be the best choice for a gloss. Perhaps "advocate" or even "endorse" are a little closer, though those are
not really on the mark either.
tlheb does not imply that the activity or position being urged or advocated has been communicated to the person who'd perform this action or take this position.
Usage for tlheb
There is no usage for this word in the database.
