tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 28 06:35:04 2011
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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: chuQun
> Klingon Word of the Day for Saturday, November 26, 2011
>
> Klingon word: chuQun
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition: nobility
Never used in a Klingon sentence.
Does {chuQun} refer to the nobles ["Great Houses"] - i.e. the "upper class" - as a social class, or to the abstract idea? It may be coincidence but note the similarity to {Qun} "god, supernatural being" (i.e. "new gods" according to Lieven Litaer's idea).
Cultural notes:
KGT 37: Klingon society is a stratified one. That is, there are clear distinctions between those with great wealth and influence and those with little or none. This sort of status is a matter of inheritance. Among the higher classes, one is born into an ancestral unit known as a {tuq}, normally translated "house. ... the heads of the larger houses--that is, those with the greatest holdings and strongest forces-have seats on the Klingon High Council ({tlhIngan yejquv}), the body that rules the Empire. Since the number of seats on the Council is limited, many houses are not directly represented, are not as influential in Klingon society, and therefore occupy a slightly lower social position. In addition to wielding great political influence, members of the higher classes are also better educated than are others
KGT 40: Vocabulary associated with class distinctions falls into two types: words used to refer to the upper classes and words used predominantly by one class or the other.
KGT 41: The upper classes, for their part, incorporate a few archaic words into their speech.
Related noun:
{tuq} tribe, house, ancestral unit, lineage" and {moch} superior
Related verb:
{nIv} be superior
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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