tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Mar 11 12:14:34 1999

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RE: The Colour Purple



jatlh 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.

<'Iw rur> is fine - "it resembles blood". <'Iw rur nguv> doesn't work though
- there are two main verbs. The general way to use <rur> to describe
something (colors in particular) is to state the quality and then add the
<rur> bit. KGT has an excellent section on similies (pp. 127-131).

Doq; 'Iw rur - It's the color of blood
Doq; Qaj wuS rur - It's the color of kradge lips (brown)

> 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:

Well, that really depends on what you are watching. In ST VI and on the
Klingon CD-ROM, the blood looks like Pepto Bismol. On TV, it looks like
human blood. You are free to decide which one you prefer, but be aware that
the other exists.

> {'Iw rurqu'}         - an intense purple

The <-qu'> doesn't make the color more intense; it makes the *resemblance*
more intense. This means that whatever it is isn't just roughly the same
color as blood - it's almost exactly the same color. Whether that's
fluorescent pink or blood red is up to you.

> {Doq 'ej 'Iw rur}    - red-violet

It's red and it resembles blood. Just plain blood red (or blood pink).

> {SuD 'ej 'Iw rur}    - a colour more blue-violet than anything else

This one doesn't make much sense. Blood is <Doq>, so how can something that
is <SuD> be a similar color? It would be like saying "It's as orange as the
grass in my lawn". (and no, I do NOT have mutant grass...)

> {Doqqu' 'ej 'Iw rur} - a maroon or burgandy colour

<Doq> is the general red/orange shade, and <Doqqu'> is an intense <Doq> -
bright red. If you want maroon or burgundy, you probably want <Doq 'ej
Hurgh>.

> {wov 'ej 'Iw rur}    - a light lavender tint

maj.

> Example:

> qIj qabDaj. chISqu' jIbDaj. 

maj.

> qul wovbogh 'ej 'Iw rurqu'bogh qabDu'Daj.

I think you've gone overboard on the <-bogh> clauses here - the sentence has
no main verb.  I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what you mean
here. I'm guessing from the next bit that you meant <mIn> instead of <qab>
here, and I think you're trying to say something like "his eyes are firey
red". For that, I would say <Doqqu' mInDu'Daj; qul wov rur>.

> If a Klingon WANTED TO, she could describe a terran's bloodshot
> eyes this way:

> qabDu'Daj terangan 'Iw nguvbogh.

I'm having trouble again. To describe bloodshot eyes, I would say <mInDu'Daj
nguvmoH 'Iw> - "Blood colors his eyes". I might also just say <mInDu' Doq> -
"red eyes" and assume I would be understood (note that the first example is
a full sentence; the second one is not).

> Of course, this opens up a whole other can of qagh!

Mmmmmm. Canned qagh.

The important thing to keep in mind here is that Klingon has two basic words
for colors: <Doq> and <SuD>. English has six (I think), so we try to map our
notions onto Klingon, inventing complicated expressions for simple things.
To a Klingon, a yellow hat, a blue bowl, and a green tree are *all* <SuD>.
If there is a need to be descriptive, you can certainly go wild, but in
normal everyday speech, things are usually just <Doq> or <SuD>.


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian



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