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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: boqrat chej

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



> Klingon Word of the Day for Wednesday, March 20, 2013
> 
> Klingon word: boqrat chej
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition: bok-rat liver, stewed
> Source: IKS Gorkon trilogy: Book One: A Good Day to Die

  ghun 'Iw HIq, rap boqrat chej 
  the bokrat liver is as warm as the bloodwine (HQ 13.1:8)

  boqrat chej Qevlu'pu'bogh
  stewed *bokrat* liver (KGT)

Stewed {boqrat} liver was served on board the IKS Rotarran. It wasn't fresh, but Jadzia thought it might be palatable with a little bloodwine. (DS9 "Soldiers of the Empire")

HQ 13.1:8:  *bokrat* liver is typically served hot in a stew

KGT 93:  Some dishes are prepared by heating meat in a liquid consisting of the animal's blood along with some choice condiments. To prepare food in this way is to {Qev} it. Livers of *bokrats* are typically prepared in this manner. Though the dish is heated, in order to properly make {boqrat chej Qevlu'pu'bogh} (stewed bokrat liver; literally, "*bokrat* liver that has been stewed"), the livers should be from an animal that was killed only minutes before. The difference in flavor between fresh and nearly stale livers is most noticeable.

"Food made from the liver of a *bok-rat*, apparently cooked to some degree, making it unusual among Klingon foods." (_Diplomatic Imperative_)


Anatomical notes:

KGT 28:  A small amount of regional variation is also found among words referring to body parts, though almost always, words for the different body parts are the same in all dialects. One exception is the word for "nose" ... Another is the word for "liver," which is generally {chej} but in some regions also {mavje'}. The fact that Klingons have two livers does not seem to be relevant here, since both {chej} and, for those who use the word, {mavje'} apply to either liver.


Culinary notes:

KGT 30f.:  throughout the Empire, a soup whose main component is *igvah* liver has a special name, {ghaw'}. This word is avoided in the Vospeg region, however, because there, the word {ghaw'} is a slang term meaning something like "one who is full of self-doubt or who is insecure" and is a word used only as an insult. To refer to the soup, one simply says {'IghvaH chej chatlh} (literally, "*igvah* liver soup*). In most of the Empire, to say to someone {ghaw' SoH} means only You are *igvah* liver soup, an odd thing to say, but more incongruous than anything else. In the Vospeg region, on the other hand, to call someone a {ghaw'} is often the prelude to a fight to the death.

KGT 87:  If, for some reason, the {qagh} cannot be consumed before they all die, the entire mixture of {qagh} and {ghevI'} [a thick sauce for {qagh}] is saved and later heated up as a sort of stew (the general term for which is {tlhIq}; thus, {qagh tlhIq} may be translated as "{qagh} stew"). Although not as desirable as live {qagh}, this is a common way to serve leftovers.

KGT 206:  In Klingon, but not in Federation Standard, there is a third verb in this set, {'ep}, which refers to consuming soup or, more accurately, to consuming Klingon {chatlh}, which contains less liquid than the typical Terran soup. (It should be noted that although the Federation Standard verb "slurp" may well apply to how a Klingon consumes {chatlh}, it is not an accurate translation of {'ep}, since it refers to eating and drinking noisily, not to the consumption of soup in particular.)


Related words:

tlhIq 	stew (n)
chatlh  	soup (thick) (n)

Qev		stew (v)
'ep		consume soup (v)


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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