tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 10 15:28:31 2001
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Re: yoShommey
Quvar:
: A friend of mine asked me if there's a way to say that something is
: spotted, speckled or mottled. Like a Tiger perhabs, he didn't tell me no
: context.
I'm not sure that we can yet, but I'll give it a shot. One way that occurs to
me - and I admit it's not very good - is to use {nguv} "be dyed, be stained, be
tinted" with {-Ha'}, in the sense of "done wrongly" (perhaps by nature?)
*{nguvHa'} "be mis-dyed, be mis-stained, be mis-tinted" together with the
color. E.g.:
chay' nguv Qugh targh?
What color is Kruge's targ?
chIS 'ej nguvHa'.
A funny shade of white. A mottled white.
Perhaps {-Ha'} can be used with the color term directly:
chISHa' Qugh targh.
Both of these are more likely to be understood as "off-white" or even "used to
be white but it isn't any more", if Kruge dyed {nguvmoH} his pet's fur in order
to disguise it.
Another option: You might use {-law'} "apparently, seemingly":
chISlaw' Qugh targh.
However, this can also be understood as "I think Kruge's targ is white" (as if
you're not quite certain).
The only unambiguous way way would be to describe it exactly: "Kruge's targ is
white with a few patches of darkish fur", or to compare it with some other
well-known spotted object or animal:
Doq Qugh targh 'ej tera' *tiger* rur.
Kruge's targ is orange/red and resembles a Terran tiger.
This is also one way Klingons indicate other colors beyond the four main ones:
Doq 'ej Qaj wuS rur
be orange/red and resemble kradge lips. (st.klingon)
["The lips of the kradge are presumably a particular shade of brown."]
Doq 'ej beqpuj rur
(it) is Doq and resembles beqpuj (an orange mineral) KGT
BTW, we know that there are spotted targs - B'Elanna once said that someone's
splotchy skin (as the result of an illness) made them look "like a spotted
targ" - we just don't know how Klingons describe them.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons