tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 08 07:42:48 2006
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Re: Klingon WOTD: chuQun (noun)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Wednesday, November 8, 2006.
>
>Klingon word: chuQun
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition: nobility
Never used in canon.
Does {chuQun} refer to the nobles [i.e. the "Great Houses"] as a class, or
to the abstract idea (cf. {batlh} "honor")? Although AFAIK Okrand has
never mentioned "nobility" per se, he does write of the "upper" or "higher"
classes:
Vocabulary associated with class distinctions falls into two
types: words used to refer to the upper classes and words used
predominantly by one class or the other. [KGT 40]
The upper classes, for their part, incorporate a few archaic
words into their speech. [KGT 41]
Klingon society is a stratified one. That is, there are clear
distinctions between those with great wealth and influence and
those with little or none. This sort of status is a matter of
inheritance. Among the higher classes, one is born into an
ancestral unit known as a {tuq}, normally translated "house."
[...] the heads of the larger houses--that is, those with the
greatest holdings and strongest forceshave seats on the Klingon
High Council ({tlhIngan yejquv}), the body that rules the Empire.
Since the number of seats on the Council is limited, many houses
are not directly represented, are not as influential in Klingon
society, and therefore occupy a slightly lower social position.
In addition to wielding great political influence, members of
the higher classes are also better educated than are others...
{KGT 37]
If members of the High Council aren't considered {chuQun}, who would be?
As an example of the abstract idea in Trek, Surak once said: "Nobility lies
in action not in name." [Anyone know the source for this?]
It may be coincidence, but note the similarity to {Qun} "god, supernatural
being". Are these words related?
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons