[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: ram

[Steven Boozer]

Klingon Word of the Day for Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Klingon word: ram
Part of speech: noun
Definition: night
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qaStaHvIS wa' ram loS SaD Hugh SIjlaH qetbogh loD 
4,000 throats may be cut in one night by a running man. (TKD)

Hov ghajbe'bogh ram rur pegh ghajbe'bogh jaj 
A day without secrets is like a night without stars. (PK)

maj ram 
Good, (it is) night (idiom: "Good night!") (KGT)

chu'DI' maS 'ej qaStaHvIS ram 
On the night of the new moon (PB)

ramvam'e' may'luchlIj nIv yItuQmoH 
[translation unavailable] (PB)

(KGT 206-7):  Thus, Federation Standard uses the single word day to refer to both a period of 24 Earth hours (generally reckoned from midnight to midnight) and to that part of the 24-hour period which is light (day as opposed to night). In Klingon, there are two distinct terms: {jaj} is the period from dawn to dawn; {pem} is that part of a {jaj} which is light (as opposed to {ram} [night]). Although Federation Standard also makes use of the locutions daytime and nighttime, when a speaker of Federation Standard is counting periods of daytime, only day is used. Thus, three days, with no further context, is ambiguous, for it can refer to three 24-hour periods (as in "They wandered for three days") or three periods of daylight (as in "They wandered for three days and three nights"). In Klingon, {wej jajmey} means only three stretches from dawn to dawn;  {wej pemmey} means three periods of daylight (as opposed to {wej rammey} [three nights]).

(KGT 119-20):  When going to sleep, Klingons generally have nothing in particular to express to one another. There are a few set phrases, however, that parents frequently say to their children, and the same expressions are commonly used by good friends, particularly on a night before a battle. ... The other, {maj ram}, is an idiomatic expression usually rendered in Federation Standard as "good night", though this translation obscures the real meaning of the sentiment. The Klingon word {maj} is an exclamation expressing satisfaction, generally translated as simply good, and functioning as a sentence in its own right. The second word, {ram}, is a noun meaning night, and it is all that remains of two formerly used longer expressions, {ngaj ram} ("The night is short") and {nI' ram} ("The night is long"). The original full expressions, then, were {maj, ngaj ram} ("Good, the night is short"), suggesting that it would not be long before the next day's activities could begin, or {maj, nI' ram} ("Good, the night is long"), suggesting that there was ample opportunity for rejuvenation and meaningful dreaming. 
    Over time, as result of frequent repetition of the phrases, the original intent of both versions was lost. People said them but did not give much thought to what they meant. They came to be used interchangeably, as if they meant the same thing, namely "Good, it is night". Later, the expressions were shortened by dropping the superfluous (and, by then, meaningless) {ngaj} and {nI'}, leaving the contemporary {maj ram}. As a practical matter, Klingons still do not think about what {maj ram} means; they just say it, if they say anything at all, upon retiring.

(msn.onstage.startrek.expert.Okrand 6/29/1997):  In Klingon, you could even say {DaHjaj pem} "today's daytime", which would probably be typically contrasted with {DaHjaj ram} "today's night" (or tonight). 

wa'maH cha' pemmey wa'maH cha' rammey je 
twelve days and twelve nights (idiom: "a long time") 
(KGT 121):  This is a rather long-winded way to say a long time (which would be {poH nI'} in nonidiomatic speech). It implies a bit more than that, however, for it is used to mean not only that the length of an event is long but also that the event is an important one, worthy of taking up so much time. The expression comes from the well-known story of Kahless the Unforgettable, the founder of the Klingon Empire, and his brother, Morath, who fought for the fabled "twelve days and twelve nights" because Morath had broken his word and brought shame to the family. The word used for days, {pemmey}, is the plural form of {pem} (day, daytime), a word referring to the part of the day when it is light out (as opposed to {ram} [night]).  [ story first heard in TNG "New Ground"]


SEE:
ram  		be trivial, trifling, unimportant, insignificant (v)

SEE ALSO:
choS 		twilight (n)
ramjep 		midnight (n)
Hurgh 		be dark (v)

--
Voragh, Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
    Please contribute relevant vocabulary from recent qep’a’mey 
    or qepHommey. I’ve fallen woefully behind in updating my files.