RE: chuQun

[Steven Boozer <sboozer@midway.uchicago.edu>]

'ISqu':
> > qech 1/ qech 2/ ghap 'oS mu' chuQun (nobility)?
> >
> > 1. hereditary class that has special social
> >     or political status in a country
> >
> > 2. nobleness of mind, character, or spirit;
> >     exalted moral excellence.

DloraH:
>nuq Hech MO?  jISovchu'be' jIH.

Do'Ha' maSovbe'.  not <<chuQun>> mu' lo'pu' Okrand.

Since Klingon has relatively few nouns for abstract concepts - outside of 
{batlh}! <g> - I've always assumed Okrand intended meaning #1.  Remember 
that Kruge is called "Lord Kruge" and "my lord" several times in ST3, the 
movie for which Okrand created the language.  Perhaps he was thinking that 
all the {joHpu'}, the heads of the great houses {tuq} and their wives, 
constitute the {chuQun} who rank below the emperor.

Before TNG et al., our knowledge of Klingon society was extremely 
limited.  Now we know that there is a hereditary ruling class of warriors 
who apparently inherit seats on the High Council {yejquv}.  Okrand also 
refers to higher- and lower-classes in the section on "Societal Variation" 
in KGT (pp. 36ff.).  {chuQun} is as good as any other word to describe 
these people, although he never actually uses that word in KGT.



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons