tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Mar 08 08:16:26 1999
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Re: tlhingan weights and measures
quljIb:
>What are the tlhingan units for liquid measure? Specifically I'd like
>to know how alcoholic beverages (<HIq>) are measured, i.e. how much
>bloodwine is in a "bottle"?
ghunchu'wI':
: Marc Okrand addressed measuring volume in the old MSN Expert Forum.
:
:> Date: Wednesday, October 22, 1997 12:25 AM
:> Subject: Re: Weights and Measures
:> ...
:> (4) The only unit of volume I'm aware of is <tlho'ren>. I'm not
:> exactly sure how much one <tlho'ren> is, but it seems to be in the
:> quart/liter range.
Although not addressing the issue of Klingon measurements, we do have some
more information relating to bottles and containers.
In KCD (or at least in the novelization of Hilary Bader's game script), we
find {ngaSwI'} - literally "container" - used for "bottle" in a bar scene
(p.85f):
The bartender nodded and before a moment passed he had returned with
three bottles. He sat them on the bar and pointed at each in turn.
"ngaSwI' wej. HIvje'mey."
It looks like the grammar got a little scrambled here, though this may have
been intentional: IIRC the bartender was a human who may have been showing
off his (bad?) Klingon for Gowron and Paq, his customers.
Also in KCD we had {bIQ bal} "water jug". Okrand now seems to prefer {bal}
to {ngaSwI'} and included it in the KGT glossary as "jug, jar, bottle". It
is also mentioned briefly in the text:
"A {bal} is any bottle or jug used to store liquid. Usually one will
pour (qang) the drink directly from the {bal} into the {HIvje'}, but
it is not considered uncivil to drink directly from the {bal}.
(KGT:98f)
a cook's ever-present supply of {chanDoq} (marinade) is kept in a large
{bal} (KGT:97)
The large, square metal bloodwine bottle we frequently see at Quark's bar
and elsewhere on DS9 is probably just called a {'Iw HIq bal} on the model
of {'Iw HIq HIvje'}, which may refer both to those (civilian?) fluted metal
Klingon goblets as well as those large metal mugs typically used aboard
ships. Cf. KGT (p.98):
Since certain drinks are typically associated with certain containers,
saying the type of drink plus {HIvje'} indicates the type of cup or
glass as well: {'Iw HIq HIvje'} ("bloodwine glass")
Another container commonly associated with bloodwine is the {qegh} "vat,
barrel (for storage of liquor)", also listed in KGT. As we know from
several DS9 episodes, bloodwine is transported and stored in metal barrels
(Apocalypse Rising, Warriors of the Empire, etc.), as is ale {wornagh}
(KGT:98f):
Ale is often stored in a large vat (qegh) rather than in a {bal}.
Etiquette note: Always bring along a couple of barrels of bloodwine to
break the ice with the crew if you are ever invited to travel aboard a
Klingon ship.
Finally, {qegh} may also refer generally to vats used in cooking, though
there are of course more specific terms:
The equipment needed for the preparation of Klingon food is rather
minimal, consisting pretty much of pots or vats ... A square or
rectangular tub used to hold food while it is fermenting is called
a {'Ib}. (KGT:97)
I have a vague recollection of someone once mentioning in a DS9 episode
that X barrels of bloodwine was approximately Y liters, but unfortunately I
didn't write this down. Does anyone else remember this?
Finally in answer to quljIb's question: I wouldn't be surprised to learn
that a {'Iw HIq bal} typically contains either a half {tlho'ren} or a full
{tlho'ren} of bloodwine.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons