tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Dec 17 13:13:01 2000

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing



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

Re: VOCAB question: engineering, departments, universities, courses



DevID wrote:

: "Department" - that is, a branch of a university dealing with a
: particular subject matter.  What I want to say is "Department of 

We have {'ay'} "section, part, component, piece".

: Electrical and Computer Engineering", which I imagine would be
: {'ul, De'wI' je jonwI' X}, where X = "department".  

There's no general term for engineering, but try {cham} "technology".

{jonwI'} is an "engineer".  We also know of {jonpIn} "engineering officer"
and {jonta'} "[ship's] engine", all implying an unknown verb and/or noun
*(jon}.  Since it's for your own use, you might say *{jon'ay'} though some
on this list will attack you for using an unattested, or obsolete, word.  

: people use {yaH} for "office", but it's not quite the same
: as a "Department".  Would {yaH'a'} work?

{yaH} "duty station" is actually used to mean job - i.e. the place where
you work - not necessarily an office.

: "University" - Most likely to be {DuSaQ'a'}.  Is there a way to 
: indicate "university" rather than "college"?  (There are several 
: other colleges in my city, though they have different names,
: so likely {DuSaQ'a'} is specific enough.)

We generally use *{DuSaQ'a'} on the list for either.  Although Okrand
hasn't vetted this word, it seems logical.  Since we don't know whether
Klingons even have a {DuSaQ'a'}, it seems pointless to force an English
distinction onto it.  (See my comments below.)  But if you insist, you
could refer to a *{DuSaQ'a' QIv} vs. *{DuSaQ'a' nIv}; you could also number
them, à la {yaS wa'DIch}, {yaS cha'DIch}, etc.

Okrand discussed the various types of schools in an article in HolQeD 4.4:

  "The most general word for 'school' (a place for learning) is {DuSaQ}.
   A specialized school, perhaps translatable as 'academy', is {'ampaS}.
   An organization dedicated to scholastic pursuits or research is a
   {yejHaD} 'institute' or 'institution' or a {yej'an} 'society'. The
   distinction between {yejHaD} and {yej'an} is not clear, though the
   former is usually--but not always--used for larger organizations." 

And he has approved {tlhIngan Hol yejHaD} "Klingon Language Institute".
 
: "Degree"
: {naD} "commendation" - Is that close enough?  (Then perhaps
: {naDHom} for Bachelor, {naD} for Master's, {naD'a'} for 
: Doctor's?)

The recipients being listed in the {naD tetlh} "Commendation List", no
doubt.  Also consider {'obe'} "order, group officially recognized by
government", {tev} "prize", {van'a'} "award" and {pop} "reward".

Keep in mind that there are additional graduate degrees in other countries
which don't fit into the American-style three degree sequence of BA/BS -
MA/MS/MDiv/MBA - PhD/LLD/JD/MD, etc.  (As you can see, even we have several
variants of each of these.)

: "Graduate Student"
: How would one indicate a Master's level student as opposed
: to an undergraduate?  (Or a Ph.D. from a Master's?)  I know

An unnecessary distinction.  Just say *{DuSaQ'a' ghojwI'}.
 
: "Course"
: Is there a way to describe a course (i.e. a series of classes,
: tests, etc.)?  I have {paQDI'norgh} for "teachings", so maybe
: {paQDI'norgh tlhegh} might work.

"Couse" and "lesson" have been discussed off and on on the list WRT the
Postal Course, with no clear solution AFAIK.  You might search the Archives.
 
: "Term"
: A period of study.  I think {DuSaQ poH} "school period" works
: in context.

It could also refer to the entire time period you were in school, your
"school days" as a whole.  

Try {ghojmeH poH} or {HaDmeH poH} instead of a NOUN-NOUN sequence. The
{VERBmeH NOUN} pattern is a quite useful and under-utilized tool: a NOUN
used for the purpose of VERBing.  KCD gave us {ghojmeH taj} or "learner's
knife" - i.e. the knife a young Klingon uses before he is presented his d'k
tahg after his or her Rite of Ascension - which Okrand translated as a
"boy's knife", since the protagonist in the game was a boy.  Other examples
are {QongmeH Duj} sleeper ship, {qa'meH vIttlhegh} replacement proverb,
{SopmeH pa'} dining room/eating room, {chenmoHlu'meH Daq} construction
site, {Qapchu'meH chuq} effective range, {HoS QaymeH 'och} Power Transfer
Conduit, {Soj polmeH pa'} Food Storage (room).

: "Teaching Assistant"
: {boQ} - I think this works.  {[course]vamvaD jIboQ} "I am a
: TA for this course"

Also the verb {QaH} "help, aid".

But the noun is exactly what you want: {ghojmoHwI' boQ}
teacher's/instructor's aide - {boQ} an "aide" for short.
 
: "Information" vs. "Data"
: Besides {De'}, what other words can be used to describe 
: "information" and "data"?  I wish to distinguish between the
: two meanings.  For a {ngong} "experiment", I can have both
: information (about the experiment) and data (obtained from
: the experiment).

Don't try to force an English distinction - one that I don't see - onto the
Klingon.  Different languages make different distinctions between words
(e.g. color words in Klingon).  Respect the language you're writing in;
don't try to force it to reproduce every trivial difference in your own.
Since Okrand glossed {De'} as "data, information" - accept it.  Let the
context indicate how to translate {De'} into English.

But if you insist, there are {ngoD} "fact", {potlh} "consequential
thing/something important", {Sov} "knowledge".
 

-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons 


Back to archive top level