tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Oct 21 02:57:29 1998
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mu' chu' - Fw: Just curious...
- From: "Qermaq" <[email protected]>
- Subject: mu' chu' - Fw: Just curious...
- Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 06:01:45 -0400
-----Original Message-----
From: Marc Okrand <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: startrek.klingon
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 1998 11:26 PM
Subject: Re: Just curious...
Though there is no question that medical services are
sometimes necessary, Klingons have a feeling of uneasiness
when it comes to anything associated with medicine.
Furthermore, to a Klingon, finding oneself in need of the
care of a doctor is often considered a disgraceful state of
affairs.
Nevertheless, Klingon doctors do exist, as do various sorts
of aides, but the division of labor in Klingon hospitals,
sick bays, and the like is not quite parallel to that in
the Federation. As a result, the vocabulary associated
with medical practitioners is not quite parallel to its
Federation counterpart.
The general word for "doctor" or "physician" is /Qel/. A
doctor who performs surgery is a /HaqwI'/ "surgeon." The
two terms are not mutually exclusive; that is, the same
individual may be referred to as both a /Qel/ and a
/HaqwI'/. It is reasonable to say /HaqwI' po' ghaH Qel'e'/
"the doctor is a skilled surgeon" (/po'/ "be skilled,"
/ghaH/ "he/she," /-'e'/ topic suffix).
There is no single term for "nurse," as distinguished from
"physician's assistant." Voragh's suggestions (/Qel boQ/
"doctor's aide," /HaqwI' boQ/ "surgeon's aide") are fine
and both could be used. Qov's suggestion, /QelHom/,
consisting of /Qel/ "doctor" plus the diminutive suffix
/-Hom/, is also an acceptable form (and is an excellent
illustration of the diminutive suffix -- the word means
"not quite a doctor" or "lesser doctor" or the like).
Another word sometimes applied to the person a Federation
patient might refer to as a "nurse" is /rachwI'/. The verb
/rach/ has been translated variously as "invigorate,"
"fortify," and "strengthen." Thus /rachwI'/ (/rach/ plus
the suffix /-wI'/ "one who does") is an "invigorator,
fortifier, strengthener." When used in reference to a
person, the verb /rach/ suggests an improvement in health;
when used in reference to an inanimate object, say, a
mechanical device or the hull of a ship, /rach/ also
implies improvement or betterment.
/rach/ is to be distinguished from /tI'/ "repair" in two
ways: (1) /tI'/ is generally not applied to living beings;
(2) /tI'/ suggests restoration to a previous state, not
necessarily improvement. /rach/ is also to be
distinguished from /Dub/ "improve," which seems to be used
primarily when what is being enhanced is of a more abstract
nature (as when one improves or increases one's status,
skill, understanding, etc.).