tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 13 07:41:30 2006
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Re: Klingon WOTD: qung (noun)
> >> qung wejDIch HengmeH qewwI' lo'
> >> (in order) to finger the third hole, he/she uses the ring finger
> >> (HQ 10.2:7)
lay'tel SIvten:
> > Seems like it would have been easier to just say:
> > {qung wejDIch HengmeH qew}
> > (in order) to finger the third hole, he/she uses the ring (third)
> > finger
ghunchu'wI':
>It almost seems that {Heng} might not be a kind of {qew}. I'd
>interpret it as a more general action that can't really be captured
>by any of the specific "finger" verbs (even while any "fingerer"
>digit can actually do it).
The HQ sentence is our only example of {Heng} I know of. Here's what I
have about {Heng} "finger (holes, strings of instrument) to vary sound" and
the finger verbs:
"The 'finger verbs' are used when talking about specific ways of using a
particular device (weapon, computer control panel, even musical instrument)
[...] The verb {Heng} 'finger holes in a musical instrument' is a general
term. When a specific finger is being referred to, one of the finger verbs
is usually used?" (HQ 10.2:8).
"Wind instruments (there is no overall term for them) range from the simple
flute or fife ({Dov'agh}), generally crafted from a bone, to the highly
complex {meSchuS} [...] One tube terminates in the mouthpiece ({ngujlep})
into which the player blows ({SuS}). The instrument's pitch and timbre are
modified by fingering strategically placed holes in the tubing and by
moving the hands in various ways (to move the fingers in this way is to
{Heng})." (KGT 75)
"A third category of Klingon instrument is the {SuSDeq}, the windbag or
bellows type [...] For one form of {SusDeq}, the {may'ron}, the player
stretches the bag out to fill it with air and squeezes it together to empty
it while directing the flow of air by pressing buttons mounted on boards on
either end of the bag, much like an accordion. To finger the {may'ron}
['accordion, concertina']--that is, to push the buttons--is to {Heng}, the
same word applied to the {meSchuS}. To alternately squeeze and stretch out
the bag part of the {may'ron} is to {rey}." (KGT 75-76)
"To produce music, one may either pluck ({pang}) or strum ({yach}, which
also means stroke or pet) the strings. The tone produced is varied by
touching the string or strings at various points while plucking or
strumming. The verb used for this, perhaps translatable as 'to finger', is
the same as the one used for wind instruments: {Heng}." (KGT 76)
Perhaps {Heng} is a musical term for a particular type of finger action
used to refer to one of several ways of producing a musical sound, the
precise nature of which may vary depending on the type of instrument. For
wind instruments the relevant action verbs are {Heng} vs. {SuS}; for string
instruments {pang} vs. {yach} vs. {Heng}; for windbags {Heng} vs. {rey}.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons