tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jan 24 23:07:27 2000

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Re: talking about the degree of quality of something



De'vID asked:
>Also, how do I express the ideas "lukewarm", "warm", "room temperature",
>"cool" and "chilly"?  

Hot and cold are relative terms, so {tuj} and {bIr} can cover a lot of
ground in context.  

  bIrchugh qIvon tuj 'Iw
  If the qIvon is cold, the blood is hot. TKW

  pa'vamDaq jIbIr 
  I am cold in this room.  KGT

> I have <tuj> "hot", <tujqu'> for "boiling", <bIr> "cold", <bIrqu"> 
> for "freezing" but how do I express the qualities in between?  
 
DloraH:
: First, nothing says that tujqu' is "boiling" and bIrqu' "freezing".

The verb for boil is {pub}, apparently intransitive:

  pubtaHbogh ghargh HIq vItlhutlh.
  I will drink Boiling Worm Wine. PK

  tujpa' qul pub SuvwI' 'Iw
  A warrior's blood boils before the fire is hot. TKW

  "the general word for boil is {pub}, but the verb used specifically 
  to refer to the boiling of fat is {'Im} [render]" (KGT:93)

... and {taD} is "be frozen", {taDmoH} is "freeze" (i.e. something else).
Also don't forget {tet} "melt".

: But, to answer your question about in between... perhaps loQ - slightly
: loQ tuj - it is slightly hot
: loQ bIr - it is slightly cold

(-law'} often works in the right context.
 
: tlhoS tuj - it is almost hot

Also [wej} "not yet".  Here are some of Okrand's variations on {tuj}:

tujchoH  "become hot" (heat up, get hot, etc.)
 - chorgh tujchoHpu' bIQ
   When will the water be hot? TKD

: tujqu' would most likely be translated "very hot".

{-qu'} can sometimes be translated as "too" in context:

  tera'nganvaD romuluS HIq jabQo'.  HoSghajqu'.
  They won't serve Romulan ale to Terrans. Too potent. CK
  [sic! - or Clipped? - for {lujabQo'}]

tujqu'choH  overheat (lit. "become very hot")
 - tujqu'choH QuQ
   The engine is overheating. TKD

tujmoH  "cause to be hot"
 - yItuj'eghmoH
   Heat yourself! ("Cause yourself to be hot!") KGT

: We also have tlhoy - excessively.
: tlhoy tuj - it is too hot; it is excessively hot.

Apparently the opposite of {loQ}.

: you could probably make use of the word [rur - resembles].
: bIr, chuch rur - it is cold, like ice.

There is a standard, if dramatic, Klingon cliche:

  bIr; bortaS rur 
  cold as revenge  KGT

Depending on what you're referring to, you might say for "warm":

  tuj; 'Iw HIq rur
  hot as bloodwine

I remember reading (KGT? startrek.klingon?) that bloodwine is served at
body temperature - {porgh Hat}? - presumably a Klingon body.  Whatever that
is; but surely certainly it's less hot than boiling, but warmer than room
temperature.

  latlh HIvje'Daq 'Iw HIq bIr vIqang
  I pour the cold bloodwine into another glass  KGT
 
If the wine is cooler than you expected, it's cold to you regardless of its
physical temperature as measured by thermometer (*{tuj noch} "heat sensor"?}.

As always, context is everything.  Be creative and don't get fixated on the
lack of specific words.


-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons 


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