tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jun 09 08:27:27 2008
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Re: Klingon WOTD: nagh DIr (noun)
>This is the Klingon Word Of The Day for Saturday, June 7, 2008.
>
>Klingon word: nagh DIr
>Part of Speech: noun
>Definition: shell (of an animal)
>
>Additional Notes:
>KGT p. 92. The shell of an animal ({nagh DIr}--literally, "rock
>skin"--not to be confused with {yub} ["husk, rind, peel"], the word
>applied to the shell of a nut, or {pel'aQ} ["eggshell"]) is commonly
>separated from the animal meat, fermented, and served at another time.
Never used in a sentence.
Cultural notes:
After the spirit has departed the body {porgh}, Klingon warriors consider
the corpse {lom} to be only an "empty shell" - {nagh DIr chIm}? - to be
disposed of accordingly. This sentiment was heard twice in TNG "Heart of
Glory". First, after Worf, Korris and Konmel performed the death ritual
{Heghtay} over the body of the young Klingon renegade:
CRUSHER: Is there any special arrangement you would like for the body?
KORRIS: It is only an empty shell now. Please treat it as such.
and later, when Picard spoke to Cdr. K'nera of the Klingon ship sent to
capture Korris and the other two renegade Klingons:
PICARD: Korris and the other Klingon are dead.
K'NERA: May I speak with Lieutenant Worf?
WORF: Yes, Commander?
K'NERA: How did they die?
WORF: They died well.
PICARD: Do you wish the bodies returned?
K'NERA: They are now only empty shells. Dispose of them as you see fit.
This change of state is reflected in the language. DloraH reported a
conversation he had with Marc Okrand at Praxis Con (May 1998):
When someone dies, if you are talking about the "person" they get
{-wI'}; and of course if you are referring to the empty shell that
is left, it gets a {-wIj}.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons