tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jul 12 13:41:16 2002
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Re: Chelsea
At 07:49 AM Friday 7/12/02, you wrote:
>> >tar lungHom = cobra
>>
>>Any particular reason you chose lungHom as opposed to ghargh'a'?
>>
>> >is ghargh'a' more correct, and should it be preceded with "tar?"
>
>{ghargh} is glossed as 'serpent, worm' (TKD). lung is glossed as 'type of
>animal, loong (lizardlike)' (KGT). I would guess that a lung has legs,
>whereas a ghargh does not.
Agreed; a {lung} is a type of lizard or lizard-like creature.
Okrand goes into some detail in KCD on the distinction between {ghargh} -
which refers to serpent worms as animals - and {qagh - which refers to
serpent worms alive but with seasonings and sauce added, served as food,
and which is never pluralized. {ghargh} is used in such phrases as {ghargh
HIq} "worm wine", {'Iwghargh} "bloodworm" (e.g. {reghuluS 'Iwghargh}
"Regulan bloodworm") and {ghargh HIq} "worm wine" (e.g. {pubtaHbogh ghargh
HIq} "boiling worm wine" [PK]). *{ghargh'a'} is used for "snake" in the
KLI Gilgamesh.
Let me quote some miscellaneous canon:
"Klingons generally {Sep} (breed) small animals such as {gharghmey}
(worms)." (KGT p.89)
"Although lung is translated as 'lizard', it actually can refer to any
animal of that general shape, such as a newt or salamander." (KCD audio)
"... a {lung} is not really a dragon, but that is a close approximation."
(KGT p.49)
"The small eggs of the Tokvirian skink ({toqvIr lung}), however, are often
eaten whole, shell and all, usually by the handful." (KGT p.88)
{Duran lung DIr} "Durani lizard skins" are edible, and are "served dried
and thinly sliced. Discovered by a Klingon military unit stranded on Durani
I for six months without supplies." (KCD)
>Since you wish to refer to a poisonous snake, tar is probably the best way.
{tar} "poison" is a noun, and can probably be used for "toxin", "venom",
etc. We also have the verb {SuQ} "be toxic", and it can probably be used
for "be poisonous", "be venomous", etc. (perhaps with the use of {-qu'},
{-chu'}). There's a potentially relevant proverb in "The Klingon Way":
bIQapqu'meH tar DaSop 'e' DatIvnIS
To really succeed, you must enjoy eating poison.
If a cobra is a "poisonous snake", you could say {tar ghargh'a'}
"poison-snake/serpent" or {ghargh'a' SuQ} "toxic snake/serpent".
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons