Re: qISmaS

[Daniel Morse <westphalwz@earthlink.net>]

jIQochbe'chu'.  'ej chaq *[purim]*-vo' Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) yupma'
chenmoHlu'pu'.  lopno' qun
vISovchu'be'.

De' pIm vIqon vIneHbej:  cha' ben HovqepDaq *gorilla* wIngevlaw'pu'. 
*gorilla*vamvaD tlhIngan SuvwI' HIq wItuQmoH.  'ej Quch mach wIrar. 
gor'al wIpong.  DIvI' Hol mu' *gorilla* rurba'.  'ej wI*raffle*-mo'
Hebrew Hol mu' *goral* rurba' je.

peHruS

Michael Kaplan wrote:

> > Yeah... I mean, the Hebrew term for Christmas is <Hag ha-molad> (the H like
> > Klingon H, the h like English h).  Nothing that sounds at all like
> > /krIsm@s/.  If you want to *transliterate* it, yes, as above works okay.
> > Is that what Klingons studying Terran culture call it?  I wouldn't presume
> > to say.
>
> Interesting point. The Hebrew term "molad" refers to the moment that the Moon lies right between the
> Earth and the Sun, a.k.a. the "birth of the new moon." It becomes very important when trying to
> convert to Hebrew dates (something I was just working on yesterday, as luck would have it!). Not
> sure how "Holiday of the birth of the new moon" is the name for Christmas by any way other than
> someone localizing the term rather than just transcribing the sounds. So there is some precedent for
> Klingon terms that are the Klingon impression of a Terran holiday.
>
> >
> > What's the English word for Purim (the Jewish holiday)?  Or for that matter
> > orangutan and taco?  (but by the same token you can't always assume
> > transliteration)
>
> The term means "lots" based on the lots that were thrown. But there is enough strange imagery in any
> holiday that the Klingon term might not in any way be related to the Terran name (the Hebrew name
> for Christmas being a great example).
>
> michka