tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jan 02 15:16:43 2008

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

purple

naHQun ([email protected])



"The fact that neither SuD nor Doq includes what is called "violet" or
"purple" in Federation Standard may be related to Klingon
physiology--that is, exactly how the Klingon eye processes different
wavelengths of light." KGT pp82-83

Seems pretty simple, Klingons can't see purple, therefore they don't
have a word for "purple".

But WHY can't they see purple?

I can think of two reasons.

1) It is simply outside of thier visual range-like humans and
ultra-violet. We simple can't see it, but we know that it's there
because we have instruments to detect it for us.

2) ALL Klingons are color-blind to purple.

If it's option 1, then only a small group of Klingons who spend time
dealing with shades outside of the Klingon spectrum would have a way
to refer to puprple. (How often do we use "ultra-violet" in everyday
speech?)

If it's option 2, then in place of purple,  a Klingon would see a
different shade, something like when a colorblind human looks at a
shade that they can't see.
In which case, is anyone on the list colorblind to purple-or know
enough about colorblindness in general to "guess" what shade purple
would come out as. If a Klingon percieves purple as green-then the
Klingon would say that the object is "SuD". Which would then make all
purple object SuD, no?

Of course, not having a Klingon around to place purple objects in
front of makes all of this speculation.

~naHQun

-- 
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=508314975
http://www.myspace.com/naHQun
http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/purpleelaphants/
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=17154199825822026505
http://www.twitter.com/roneyii

Modern playwrights have become obsessed with writing human
interpretations of alien theatrical works while ignoring completely
our own unique cultural heritage.~Bashir; "The Die is Cast" (DS9)





Back to archive top level