tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Oct 03 07:21:09 2006
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Re: Klingon WOTD: yuch (noun)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Tuesday, October 3, 2006.
>
>Klingon word: yuch
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition: chocolate
>
>Additional Notes:
>KGT p. 85. Despite the general absence of sweet foods from their diet,
>Klingons tend to be quite enthusiastic about {yuch} ("chocolate"), at
>least in its purest forms.
McArdle:
>>Chocolate in its natural state is, of course, quite bitter. Is it
>>certain that this isn't the way the Klingons prefer it?
No idea, but re-read the Additional Notes: "Despite the general absence of
sweet foods from their diet, Klingons tend to be quite enthusiastic about
{yuch} ("chocolate")". This implies that {yuch} is an exception to "the
general absence of sweet foods" and is thus probably sweeter than most
Klingon food. This could still be quite bitter from the human point of
view however.
That Klingons prefer their food sour or bitter may be supported by the fact
that although there is a word {wIb} "be sour, be bitter, be tart", there is
no corresponding quality for "be sweet". (Although many Klingonists use
*{wIbHa'} for this idea, this is not Okrandian.) Indeed, Okrand says in
KGT that:
Klingon food also frequently tastes {wIb} ("sour, bitter") or {na'}
("salty, brackish"). The closest equivalent to sweet is probably
{na'ran rur} ("resembles a naran," a fruit whose juice is sometimes
added to sauces as a contrast to the other flavors). (KGT 85)
The usual Federation Standard translations of the primary tastes
("pungent, sour, salty") are a little deceptive. From the Klingon
point of view, it is not accurate to say that a particular food is
sour; rather, it tastes and smells sour. That is, sourness is not
an intrinsic quality of the food; it is a perception, the effect
the food has upon the senses of smell and taste, the Klingon sense
of smell being particularly highly developed. Translations such as
"sour-inducing" ({Soj wIb}, "sour-inducing food"; {na' Soj}, "The
food induces saltiness") would perhaps be closer to the feeling of
the Klingon, but they are a bit clumsy." (KGT 85-86)
That being said, there is a noun {HaQchor} "saccharin". Note that this
appears to be an artificial substance, and not the natural "sugar". How
the Klingons use {HaQchor} is completely unknown. It might even be a
medicine for all we know. (Perhaps as a contrast to the Klingon cure-all
{Dargh wIb} "sour tea"?)
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons