[tlhIngan Hol] Maltz about castles

[Lieven]

SPOILER FREE information from Maltz about a word used in the Klingon 
subtitles of Star Trek: Discovery: a "palace".

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In English, a "castle" is (typically) a building built for protection or 
fortification. It can, but doesn't have to be, pretty fancy, but its 
primary function is defense. A "palace," on the other hand, is 
(typically) a building built to show off wealth, power, and/or 
importance, but it's not necessarily the best place to be during a battle.

Having said that, in day-to-day 21st-Century English, the distinction 
isn't always so clear.

For Klingons, the distinction is also a little murky, since they would 
never construct a "palace" (a home for the emperor or some other 
important person) that was not designed deal with battles.  They might 
construct a "castle," though, that wasn't particularly lavish and not a 
suitable place for an official residence of the emperor.

The word for such a structure — elegant or otherwise -- is {jem'IH}. 
The emperor's castle/palace is simply {ta' jem'IH}.

If, however, the emphasis is to be on the elegance or grandeur of the 
{jem'IH}, there's another word that can be used: {DuHmor}. A {DuHmor} is 
a type of {jem'IH}, so it's a good place for the emperor to hang out. 
For clarify, you can say {ta' DuHmor}.  The emperor's official residence 
would more likely be referred to as a {DuHmor} than a {jem'IH}, but not 
necessarily always.

Klingon ships, of course, are battle-ready, so any ship designed to be 
the residence of the emperor might, I suppose, be referred to as a 
{jem'IH} or {ta' jem'IH}. And if it's a particularly grand place, then 
{DuHmor} or {ta' DuHmor} could make sense. (Maybe those are short for 
{jem'IH Duj} and {DuHmor Duj}.)
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-- 
Lieven L. Litaer
aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany"
http://www.klingonisch.net
http://www.klingonwiki.net/En/DSC110