tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Oct 07 08:02:33 1997

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Re: East, West



I may have a possible solution to [email protected]'s request for 
direction names such as "East" and "West."

I use the system of headings and bearings to describe some directions. 
e.g. "There are Romulans at 121 Mark 33" <wa' cha' wa' DoD wejmaH wej 
lurgh romuluSnganpu' tu'lu'> and "The enemy vessel is fleeing on course 
bearing two hundred mark 224, Captain." <He cha'vatlh DoD cha' cha' loS 
Haw' jagh Duj, HoD.>

For directions on surface - based missions, if one adopted a system 
where a standard direction, say "East" (the direction where the sun is 
seen to rise), is given bearing <pagh pagh pagh DoD pagh> on the 
surface, all other directions would be relative to that. "South," 
therefore, would be <HutmaH DoD pagh>; "West," <wa'vatlh chorghmaH DoD 
pagh> and so on.

"East" could also be translated as <jajlo' lurgh> for "the direction of 
the dawn." "South," then, becomes <pemjep lurgh> and "North" becomes 
<ramjep lurgh>. "West" doesn't translate using this system, as the word 
for "sunset" has not yet been defined canonically. The closest I could 
come up with is something like <pem ngo' lurgh> "The direction of the 
old day."

To find a direction such as "North by Northwest," one could then use a 
term such as <ramjep lurgh pem ngo' lurgh je jojDaq.> Any finer 
distinction, and we're back to using bearings and headings.

Anyway, when answering a "Where" question from a Klingon, if you don't 
know how to describe how to get to where he wants to go, be direct. Say 
<jISovbe'> "I don't know!"

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