tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 17 13:03:58 2001
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Re: When writing Klingon fiction...
ro'Han asked:
: Are there any written versions of the story/stories of Kahless and/or any
: other Klingon folk heroes (preferably in original Klingon)?
There are many, many versions of the Kahless stories in fan literature, both on
paper and online, mostly in English though. Perhaps someone more tuned into
Klingon fandom can point you in the right direction. Probably easier to
acquire is Trek novelist Michael Jan Friedman's "revisionist" take on the
legend in his pro-novel _Kahless_.
: As well, are there situations in which <<quv>> would be used in preference
: to <<batlh>>, or are they interchangeable?
That's a qood question, one that has long been discussed on this list - consult
the list archives at www.kli.org and search the subjects for "honor", {quv} and
{batlh}.
The truth is that we don't really know the official difference between the two
NOUNS. (N.B. {quv} is also a verb "be honored, be honorable" and {batlh} is
also an adverbial.)
FWIW, my feeling is that one uses {quv} when you're discussing someone's
personal honor or reputation (i.e. "face") and {batlh} when discussing honor in
the abstract, the honor of Klingon warriors as a group, etc. (i.e. Honor with a
capital H). I think that the key is an often overlooked line in the
untranslated dialogue between the Terran tourist and the Klingon merchant at
the beginning of "Power Klingon":
quvwIj DatIchpu', tera'ngan.
[You have insulted my honor, Terran.] PK
Also, honor WRT dueling is {quv}, not {batlh}:
Dueling--that is, challenging someone to a fight, usually to the
death, over a matter of honor--is a longstanding Klingon practice.
... A duel is preceded by one party issuing a challenge to the
other. This is expressed by using the phrase {qabDaj 'ang}
(literally, "He/she shows his/her face," referring to the Klingon
tenet that a warrior always shows his or her face in battle). ...
One accepts a challenge ({qab 'ang} [literally, "shows face"]) in
order to prove one's honor ({quv tob} [literally, "test honor
conclusively"]). Though any perceived attack on one's honor may
prompt one to issue a challenge, in one traditional form of duel,
the goal is specifically for a man to "win the favor of a women"
({vuv be' 'e' baj} [literally, "earn that a woman respect him"])
by competing with another man." (KGT:67ff)
If you would like to start this discussion again, I'll gladly supply all known
examples of {quv} and {batlh} from the canon to get things started.
: I find it *very* interesting that Klingon has a word for saccharin
: <<Haqchor>> but not for sugar.
1. Perhaps {Haqchor} is actually used for both.
2. Perhaps Klingons just don't like sweets, for cultural or even biochemical
reasons (maybe Klingons can't digest them?). Interestingly, Okrand did provide
a word for "be sour, be bitter, be tart" {wIb} but not for "be sweet" - though
many on this list use *{wIbHa'} for the latter.
3. Perhaps Klingons traditionally used some sort of natural sweetener (the
Klingon analog to honey or the sap or juice {vIychorgh} of some sweet plant or
fruit) and never processed the sugar separately and, thus, never had a need for
a special word -- at least until modern chemists were able to synthesize
saccharin {Haqchor}, perhaps in a form Klingon digestive systems can handle
(cf. point 2).
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons