tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Mar 11 11:10:40 1999

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: The Colour Purple



nuQum quljIb:

: "Klingon does not really have a name for 'violet' or 'purple'." [KGT p.82]
: 
: Maybe not, but there's a very good way to say the colour "purple":
: 	{'Iw rur nguv} - It is tinted to resemble blood.
: This may seem strange at first, but remember Klingon blood is actually a
: light violet or lavender colour, not red like terran blood or green like
: Vulcan's. Thus we get:
: 	{'Iw rurqu'}         - an intense purple
: 	{Doq 'ej 'Iw rur}    - red-violet
: 	{SuD 'ej 'Iw rur}    - a colour more blue-violet than anything else
: 	{Doqqu' 'ej 'Iw rur} - a maroon or burgandy colour
: 	{wov 'ej 'Iw rur}    - a light lavender tint
: Example:
: 	qIj qabDaj. chISqu' jIbDaj. qul wovbogh 'ej 'Iw rurqu'bogh qabDu'Daj.

Well, to distinguish Klingon or Human bloodstains from Vulcan, {Doq} vs.
{SuD} is certainly sufficient.  If however you need to distinguish Klingon
bloodstains from Human, Bajoran, Trill, etc., use {Doq 'ej wov} - or
probably just {Doq} - for Klingon blood vs. {Doq 'ej Hurgh} or {Doqqu'} for
Human et al.  I've often thought that if you asked a Klingon to show you an
example of something quintessentially {Doq}, he would pull out his d'k
tahg, slit his palm and show you his blood.  

Keep in mind that quljIb's subtle distinctions for shades of purple may not
make much sense to a Klingon, who will no doubt interpret them differently
than quljIb intended.  On the startrek.klingon newsgroup, Okrand wrote that
"Klingon physiology may prevent them from seeing the color purple or
violet."  This explains why they don't have special names for violet or
purple; dark red, purple and violet may all look alike.

Here's the full startrek.klingon post (2/21/98) for those interested:

	What we call brown would be described in Klingon by using the verb 
	{Doq} "be red, orange". If the context is clear (such as contrasting 
	a brown thing with a thing that cannot be described as {Doq}, such 
	as something that's {SuD} "blue, green, yellow"), {Doq} alone is good 
	enough. Thus, if there are two drinking cups, one brown and one blue, 
	one might say: {HIvje' Doq qaneH} "I want the {Doq} cup" [sic! for 
	{vIneH}] ... Only the brown cup could be described as {Doq}; the blue 
	cup is definitely not {Doq} since it is {SuD}. On the other hand, to 
	be more precise when talking about the color (when, for example, 
	there's a brown cup and a red cup), Klingons would typically use the 
	phrase: 
		{Doq 'ej wovbe'} 
		"be orange/red and not be bright". 
	To get even more specific (to be able to refer to different kinds of 
	browns) would involve comparisons. For example: 
		{Doq 'ej Qaj wuS rur} 
		"be orange/red and resemble kradge lips". 
	The lips of the kradge are presumably a particular shade of brown. 
	Klingon physiology may prevent them from seeing the color purple or 
	violet.

To review KGT on colors and spur discussion:  Various devices are employed
when it is necessary to talk about colors more precisely. The suffix {-qu'}
is useful, as in {Doqqu'} (red) and {SuDqu'} (green). {wov} "be bright, be
light (in color)" and {Hurgh} "be dark" may also modify colors as in {SuD
'ej wov} (yellow) or objects may be compared to something else that
typically has a particular color, as in {Doq 'ej beqpuj rur} "(it) is {Doq}
and resembles {beqpuj}" (an orange mineral).  We've seen these examples of
color-related utterances in canon:

	Doq bIQtIq 
	The river is red. KGT

	Doq bIQtIq bIQ 
	The river water is red. (idiom) KGT


	Doq'a' SuvwI'pu'? 
	Are warriors red?
	ghobe' SuD! 
	No, they are green! PK

	SuD 'ej wov 
	(it) is {SuD} and light 
	[a way to refer to a yellowish tinge] KGT

	SuD 'ach wov 
	(it) is] {SuD} but light 
	[a variant of the above which is sometimes heard] KGT

	SuD Dargh 'ej wov 
	The tea is {SuD} and light. KGT

	SuDbogh Dargh 'ej wovbogh 
	The tea that is {SuD} and light. KGT



-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



Back to archive top level