tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jun 12 13:51:19 2002

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Scoops - big, little and in between



Qov:
>Sometimes there is no English vocabulary to cover the distinction between 
>X and XHom so we use "little" to distinguish, but it's really no longer 
>the same thing.
>
>Consider bo'Dagh'a' and boDaghHom.  Okrand translated the idioms as "use a 
>big scoop" and "use a small scoop."  But I suspect bo'Degh'a' means more 
>to a Klingon than bo'Degh tIn.

Unfortunately, there were no illustrations of a {bo'Dagh} in _Klingon for 
the Galactic Traveller_.  For those without KGT who would like to 
speculate, here's what I have in my notes:

bo'Dagh  scoop, scooping implement (to serve food) KGT (n.)
   "A scooping implement, much like a garden trowel, used to remove food from
    a pot, is a bo'Dagh." (KGT 97-8)

bo'DaghHom  little scoop (to serve food) KGT (n.)
  - bo'DaghHom lo'
    use a little scoop (idiom: "make less of something than it really is" or
    "minimize the importance of something") KGT

bo'Dagh'a'  big scoop (to serve food) KGT (n.)
- bo'Dagh'a' lo' use a big scoop (idiom: "exaggerate"):
   qaHarbe'; bo'Dagh'a' Dalo'
    I don't believe you; you're using a big scoop (i.e. "You're 
exaggerating") KGT
   bo'Dagh'a' vIlo'be'
    I'm not using a big scoop (i.e. "I'm not exaggerating") KGT

And don't forget the Klingon word for "spoon" {baghneQ}.  Here is Okrand 
discussing Klingon eating practices:

"The Klingon word for 'fork' is {puq chonnaQ}. As is well known, Klingons 
prefer to get food into their mouths without the aid of implements (except 
for such things as the bowl containing soup or the goblet containing 
bloodwine). Nevertheless, they have become acquainted with the eating 
habits of other cultures and have become aware of such things as forks. On 
occasion, they'll even use the implements, most commonly when partaking of 
a non-Klingon meal (whether on a Klingon planet or elsewhere) but sometimes 
when eating Klingon food, as if to add an exotic touch to the meal 
experience. (Not all Klingons are skilled in using forks, however, and some 
simply refuse to deal with them. Those who do not use them seem to be not 
at all troubled by eating 'foreign' food using Klingon means -- that is, 
hands.) ... The Klingon word for 'spoon' is {baghneQ}. Even though spoons 
were never typically used when eating, the word appears to have been in the 
language for a long time, suggesting that it may once have meant something 
else. One theory is that it comes from {nagh beQ} 'flat stone, flat rock' 
and that the initial sounds of the two words, {n} and {b}, were, for some 
reason, transposed. This is, however, just speculation." (startrek.klingon 
[5/05/1998])

"Eating is done with hands only. There is no Klingon fork or spoon. If the 
cook has prepared the food properly, there should be no need to use a knife 
[{taj}] either, though, from time to time, one is quite useful." (KGT 99)



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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