tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 28 12:43:30 2002

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Re: Klingon WOTD: Qun (n)




>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Wednesday, August 28, 2002.
>
>Klingon word:   Qun
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition:     God

"There is a Klingon word that could be translated "god" or "supernatural 
being": {Qun}. In talking of times long ago (pre-Kahless?), Klingons 
mention these beings, and there seem to have been a good number of them 
(the plural of {Qun} is {Qunpu'} since they are or were presumably capable 
of using language, which is what the plural suffix {-pu'} implies). Though 
too little is known of ancient Klingon theology, there doesn't seem to have 
been a single {Qun} that stood out from the rest. Indeed, the {Qunpu'} 
appear to have acted collectively. {Qunpu'} are distinct from {qa'pu'} 
"spirits" (such as the spirits of the dishonored dead which reside at 
Gre'thor). {Qun'a'} "great god" ({Qun} plus {-'a'}, the augmentative 
suffix) may or may not be an appropriate translation for a single 
supernatural being in a monotheistic system, since the {Qun'a'} would still 
be one among many." (Okrand on startrek.klingon 7/19/99)


N.B. Previous to this revelation, the consensus here on the mailing list 
was to use *{joH'a'} or *{qa''a'}.  Some people still do.



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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