tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Oct 10 18:29:33 2000
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Re: KLIC: tlhIngan mI'QeD SImmeH mIw vIghoj vIneH.
tuv'el asked:
<HolQeD> chu' DalaDpu'be'ba'. For those who haven't read HolQeD 9.3,
Okrand told us only:
Maltz also explained how to talk about simple arithmetic functions,
specifically addition, subtraction, multiplications, division. There
are several ways of talking about such things, but the most common
involves using the verbs {boq} "ally with, form an alliance with"
and {chen} "take form."
N.B.: "simple arithmetic functions" and "There are several ways of talking
about such things". Maltz only wanted to talk about "the most common".
(Okrand leaves himself a loophole!)
ADDITION:
2 + 1 = 3 wa' boq cha'; chen wej.
(one allies with two, three forms)
4 + 3 = 7 wej boq loS; chen Soch.
(four allies with three, seven forms)
Note that the two numbers being added can be reversed, as they give the
same result:
3 + 4 = 7 loS boq wej; chen Soch.
SUBTRACTION:
4 - 3 = 1 loS boqHa' wej; chen wa'.
(three dissociates from four, one forms")
Okrand comments:
When subtracting, the subject and object cannot be reversed without
changing the equation. {wej boqHa' loS} would be "3 - 4" and the
answer would be3 a negative number (a concept Maltz wanted to
postpone for another time."
MULTIPLICATION:
2 x 3 = 6 cha'logh boq'egh wej; chen jav.
(twice, three allies with itself, six forms)
The multiplier and multiplicand may be reversed, as the result is the same:
3 x 2 = 6 wejlogh boq'egh cha'; chen jav.
(three times, two allies with itself)
DIVISION:
6 / 3 = 2 wejlogh boqHa''egh jav; chen cha'.
(three times, six dissociates from itself, two forms)
Okrand comments:
Reversing the dividend and the divisor changes the equation. {javlogh
boqHa''egh wej} would be "3 / 6" and the answer would be a fraction
(another topic Maltz didn't want to get into).
Ironically, the answer is the one fraction we do know: {bID} "half"!
That's it, folks! He refused to reveal how to deal with more than two
numbers in an equation, how to string operations, or how to discuss more
complex mathematical concepts for the time being. Hopefully they will
eventually follow. Maltz is a science officer, after all.
: wa') Any ideas on representing negative numbers? /taH/ perhaps?
See Okrand's comment on subtraction.
: vagh boqHa' Soch; chen cha' taH.
: "5 minus 7 equals -2"
Imaginative use for {taH} "be at a negative angle" - ?{mI' taH} - but I
think the operative word may be "angle", not "negative". Another word you
might consider is {yoy} "be upside down" - ?{mI' yoy}.
: cha') Have we stumbled onto the way Klingons represent fractional values?
Again, other than {bID} "half", not yet. See Okrand's comment on division.
We know that Klingons sometimes use percentages where Humans use simple
fractions:
cha'maHvagh vatlhvI' Hong, QIt yIghoS.
Slow to one quarter impulse power. ST5
("Twenty five percent impulse-power. Proceed slowly!")
(IRL of course, Okrand just didn't want to deal with fractions. <g>)
: cha'maH cha'logh boqHa'egh Soch; chen wejvatlh vaghmaH vagh logh
: boqHa'egh wa'vatlh wa'maH wej; chen wej vI' wa' loS wa' vagh Hut.
: "22/7 = 355/113 = 3.14159"
Decimals are always correct. Although they're not Vulcans, Worf reminds us
on one of the audiotapes that "Klingons are never approximate".
: or do Klingons represent fractions more simlarly to the way Humans do?
:
: loSlogh boqHa'egh jav; chen cha' wejDIch.
: "6 divided by 4 equals 2/3"
I assume that the English method of thirds, fourths, etc. is an
abbreviations for "a third part (of the whole)", "a fourth part", etc. Of
course, we can translate this into Klingon - 'ay' wejDIch, 'ay' loSDIch,
etc. - but there's no guarantee that a Klingon would understand this the
way an English speaker does.
Our Klingon may think, for example, that we're numbering an unknown number
of parts: the first part, the second part, the third part, etc. In fact,
I've seen this very method used as a nice way of rendering the Federation
system of dividing our galaxy into four quadrants:
jogh wa'DIch = Alpha Quadrant
jogh cha'DIch = Beta Quadrant
jogh wejDIch = Gamma Quadrant
jogh loSDIch = Delta Quadrant
But since the Klingon Empire lies mostly in the Beta Quadrant, the Klingons
may well call that the First Quadrant! <g> Or... considering the Klingon
fondness for threes - especially now that we've discovered there are three
cardinal directions in Klingon - Klingon astronomers may actually divide
the galaxy into thirds. For all we know, that's what {jogh} may actually
mean, "a large section of the galaxy"! <g>
All of that goes to show that we may devise any system we like to render
mathematical ideas, but it's very likely (1) that it won't be understood by
everyone on this list without an explanation; and (2) that it almost
certainly is not the way the Klingons (i.e. Okrand) will choose to do it!
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons