tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Aug 01 09:56:55 2003
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Re: Klingon WOTD: vaj (n)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Friday, August 1, 2003.
>
>Klingon word: vaj
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition: warrior
>
>Additional Notes:
>TKD Addendum.
>
>KGT p. 50. {vaj} refers more to the notion of warriorhood or the idea of
>being a warrior than it does to an individual warrior.
Here's the full quote from KGT:
The quintessential Klingon person, of course, is the warrior, and there
are several words for "warrior." The most commonly heard term is {SuvwI'}
(literally, "one who fights" or "fighter"). This word is used in most
circumstances and is never inappropriate. Indeed, it is often preferred
because it states explicitly what a warrior does: fight. Other words for
"warrior" are {mang} and {vaj}. The word {mang} is used when the warrior
under discussion is described in terms of his membership in a fighting
unit (for example, as a crew member on an attack cruiser). Perhaps for
this reason it is sometimes translated "soldier." The usual plural form
of {mang} is a different word altogether: {negh} ("warriors, soldiers").
The word {mangpu'} ({mang} plus the plural suffix {-pu'}) is seldom used,
but it is not ungrammatical. It carries with it the notion that there are
individuals (more than one {mang}) making up the group; {negh} focuses on
the group as a unit. A similar word, {QaS}, normally translated "troops,"
is used in almost the same way as {negh}, but it excludes officers. All
of the {negh} together make up something called a {mangghom}. Literally,
this is "warrior group" or "soldier group," but it is usually translated
as "army."
The third word for "warrior," {vaj}, refers more to the notion of
warriorhood or the idea of being a warrior than it does to an individual
warrior. In this way, it resembles {veS} ("warfare") and {vIq} ("combat").
[KGT pp. 49-50]
{vaj} in canon:
vaj toDuj Daj ngeHbej DI vI'
Shooting space garbage is no test of a warrior's mettle
[lit. "Sharpshooting of the cosmos' litter inconclusively tests a warrior's
courage"]. ST5/TKW
["Captain Klaa, who took it upon himself to take revenge against the
Federation's Captain James T. Kirk, remarked that he needed a real
challenge to test 'a warrior's mettle', or {vaj toDuj} (literally, 'warrior
courage'). He was not referring to his own courage or that of any specific
warrior (which would have been, in all likelihood, {SuvwI' toDuj}), but
rather to the kind of courage embodied in being a warrior." (KGT 50)
vaj Duj
(a warrior's instincts) KGT
vaj Duj chIj
navigate a warrior ship (idiom: "have strength of character") KGT
["It is noteworthy that in this idiom the word for 'warrior' is not the
frequently heard {SuvwI'}, which would denote an individual warrior, but
rather {vaj}, which refers to the whole idea of being a warrior... {SuvwI'
Duj} would mean the instincts of a specific warrior. If {Duj} is taken to
mean 'ship', {vaj Duj} ('warrior ship') would suggest that the ship itself
has the characteristics of a warrior, a perfectly reasonable notion. To
express that a ship is that of a specific warrior, the word {SuvwI'} is
appropriate: {SuvwI' Duj} ('warrior's ship'). " (KGT 114-115)
vaj Duj DachIj
You navigate a warrior ship
(i.e. "You have strength of character.") KGT
vaj Duj chIjbe'
He/she does not navigate a warrior ship
(i.e. "He/she lacks strength of character.") KGT
For this last idiom, cf. also {jeQ} "be self-confident".
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons