tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue May 04 14:06:52 1999
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Re: tlhIngan qachQeD (Klingon architecture)?
quljIb:
> I was poking around my TKD, and staring me right in the face was {yoS}
> "district/area". {yoS Huv} - "open area" works well, as does {bey' Huv} -
> "display area". One can also say {ghutpu'vaD yoS} - "public space (lit.
> district/area for the people)".
SuStel:
: However, I don't see why this particular construction wouldn't work, in
: the right context, as {ghotpu' yoS} "people's area."
Not as a term for "city square, marketplace". In KGT (p. 16f.) we learn
that a
{yoS} "district, area" is fairly large subdivision of a {Sep}:
"Within the land mass are distinct areas, some of which are demarcated
geographically (divided by a mountain range, for example), while the
boundaries of others seem rather arbitrary, the result, no doubt, of
ancient power struggles. A specific area whose borders are definable,
by whatever means, is normally called a {Sep}, commonly translated as
'region', though, since the regions were politically distinct in the past,
'country' might have at one time been just as appropriate a translation.
An identifiable area within a {Sep} is a {yoS} (area, district), and a
{yoS} usually contains at least one important {veng} (city); though
sometimes, especially in the more rugged parts of a planet, there may
be only a small settlement or {vengHom} [village])... Regions are
sometimes identified by the name of the most prominent city within the
region. Thus, the region containing the First City is simply called {veng
wa'DIch Sep} (First City region) and {voSpegh Sep} (Vospeg region,
southwest of the First City--to use directional terms familiar to speakers
of Federation Standard) is named after the city of Vospeg."
>From the evidence at hand, a {yoS} may contain a city, but a city doesn't
contain a {yoS}. Known {yoSmey} on Kronos are {HuD beQ yoS} (Flat Mountain
district [KGT]) in {Sa'Qej Sep} (the Sakrej region) and {tlhIng yoS} (the
Kling
District), which apparently has a naval shipyard according to the BoP poster.
quljIb's suggested *{yoS Huv} would probably be understood by Maltz as a
"clear/unobstructed district" - perhaps something like undeveloped territory,
virgin lands, or possibly the Klingon equivalent of a nature preserve. Due to
its size, Yellowstone National Park in the US would probably be called a
{yoS}.
As an alternative, I would have proposed {yotlh} "field" had we not also
learned from KGT that {yotlhmey} are associated with farming:
"Agriculture (Satlh) is practiced to a certain extent, though it is
common to gather uncultivated plants as well... The verb {yob} (harvest)
is used to refer to gathering up plants or plant parts, whether from a
field (yotlh) that has been sown or out in the wild." (KGT 89)
Whether {yotlh} can be used for other types of fields is unknown. BTW other
types of so-called fields are {che'ron} "battlefield" and {chem} "energy
field".
You have to look beyond the one or two word gloss and see how the word is
actually used. It may well turn out that {Sep}, {yoS} and {yotlh} are more
elastic than we've seen - as are their English equivalents. But for now it
seems that pedestrian {Daq} "site, place, location" is still the best option:
*{ghotpu' Daq}, *{Daq Huv}, etc.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons