[tlhIngan Hol] expressing goddess

[SuStel]

On 4/13/2021 8:50 AM, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
> mumISqu'moHmo' Sojvam, Sojvam vIQulqa'pu', 'ej Dajbogh vay' vItu'pu'.
> wa'DIch yIlaD:
>
> * god
> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/god
> the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped (as
> in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism) as creator and ruler of
> the universe.
>
> * goddess
> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goddess
> a female god
>
> * emperor
> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emperor
> the sovereign or supreme male monarch of an empire
>
> * empress
> https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empress
> 1 : the wife or widow of an emperor
> 2 : a woman who is the sovereign or supreme monarch of an empire
>
> * god
> https://www.dictionary.com/browse/god
> one of several deities, especially a male deity, presiding over some
> portion of worldly affairs.
>
> * goddess
> https://www.dictionary.com/browse/goddess
> a female god or deity
>
> * emperor
> https://www.dictionary.com/browse/emperor
> the male sovereign or supreme ruler of an empire
>
> * empress
> https://www.dictionary.com/browse/empress
> - a female ruler of an empire.
> - the consort of an emperor.

You can't just go by dictionary definitions here; usage is more subtle 
and complicated. As far as official titles go, these mostly just show 
the sexism built into the language: an emperor is a male ruler, but an 
empress could be a female ruler or the consort of the ruler. But the 
male consort of a female ruler would not be called king or emperor. The 
titles are not equal. And this doesn't even take into account that 
sometimes women gain a traditionally male title and don't use the female 
version of it. (Take, for instance, the case of "King Peggy": Peggielene 
Bartels - Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peggielene_Bartels>.)

I do not take Okrand's use of "emperor" for *voDleH* and *ta'* to 
necessarily mean that these words only refer to men. Sexism is often 
unconscious and culturally driven, and I would find it perfectly 
plausible to hear that Okrand simply hadn't considered women when he 
gave us *voDleH,* and that the word is gender-neutral. On the other 
hand, if it does only refer to men, then the sexism is in leaving the 
female version out of the dictionary.

So don't take these dictionary definitions as clear evidence for what's 
happening in Klingon. This is the sort of thing that needs the Word of 
Okrand to clarify.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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