tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Feb 17 09:11:33 2004
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Re: DonHa'
On 15 Feb 2004 at 12:22, Russ Perry Jr wrote:
> At 12:44 PM -0500 2/15/04, De'vID jonwI' wrote:
> > Would <DonHa'> mean "anti-parallel" (i.e. parallel, but in the
> > opposite direction)
>
> I don't think parallel necessarily implies direction. I see it
> that way in "flying in parallel", but if one thinks of vectors
> instead of "parallel lines", the direction of each vector is not
> important.
nuqjatlh? In parallel vectors, direction *is* important. In fact, if two vectors are parallel, one
is a scalar multiple of the other, and they therefore have the same (or exactly opposite, if the
scalar multiple is negative) direction. Magnitude is what is not important to parallel vectors.
If we're talking about lines, we don't need to worry about direction. And if we're talking about
vectors, {Don} should describe both parallel and "anti-parallel" (which is really just parallel). I
say *should*; it is, of course, completely possible that {Don} does not have the same range of
meanings as "parallel". (That is, "parallel" applies both to vectors and to lines, but with
slightly different meanings; {Don} may not be so versatile, or may not have the same
difference in meanings between the two uses.)
> > or "perpendicular"?
>
> I would think that <DonHa'> would not be so specific as that,
> but would merely mean "not parallel", hence any angle.
I would suggest {Donbe'} for that. {DonHa'} would pretty much have to be perpendicular or
skew (I throw in "skew" so no one accuses me of two-dimensional thinking). {DonHa'} could
also be a really botched attempt at parallel.
> > Can anyone suggest a word for "perpendicular"?
>
> Not really, but you could circumlocute it as "having an angle of 90
> degrees from" maybe. I can't recall if we have a measure for angles
> in Klingon though...
We don't.
-Sangqar
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