[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: tangqa'

[Steven Boozer]

I searched my notes some more.  WRT Klingon sarks, Felix posted (12/29/2019) that according to _The Starfleet Survival Guide_ :

“these beasts of burden are ‘omnivorous quadruped equine’ lifeforms that ‘are similar in size and behavior to Terran horses and Talnerian riding lizards’. They stand ‘roughly 2.5 to 2.9 meters tall at the shoulder, and mature adults weigh in excess of 340 kilograms’. They have ‘coarse, shaggy coats of fur’ in a variety of colors. They can accelerate from a standstill to speeds greater than 80 km/h in less than 12 seconds. An important difference between sarks and horses is that sarks have two straight, sharp horns that can extend more than a meter in front of their heads. They also have spiked, flail-like tails. Males are known to be fiercely territorial, and approaching a female may enrage them. They have been known to disembowel people in a single pass. In other words, I'm sure you could describe a horse as a {tera' Sargh}, and I believe many in the community do. That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if a Klingon would describe it as a {Sarghqoq} when they see it.” 

And in KGT:

(KGT 111):  A Klingon sark (Sargh) is an animal somewhat resembling a Terran horse, both in appearance and in that Klingons (generally individually) often ride on the animal's back. A "forest sark" (ngem Sargh) is a sark found in the forest (ngem) - that is, in the wild, usually one that has never carried a Klingon around. A Klingon game played on sarkback involves one rider and sark executing a particular maneuver, and then the other players copying this maneuver. The idea is to make the movement somewhat erratic - in the manner of a wild, not a domesticated animal - so that it is difficult to duplicate. In other words, the players all follow or chase (tlha') the lead rider on his or her wild sark. The phrase (often in the form {ngem Sarghmey tlha'laH} ["be able to chase forest sarks"]) is now used to indicate that one is capable of following anyone or anything - that is, that one is capable of understanding even the most complex of discussions or of solving the most intricate of problems.

Another Klingon riding animal is the *khrun*:

  nom leng Hun nom lengqu' lut 
  Stories travel faster than a *khrun* (PB 130-131)

(PB2 p.134 note):  A *khrun* ({Hun}) is an animal native to Kronos, used as a riding animal … As is suggested by the figure of speech in line 4, it is very fast.

Which doesn't answer De'vID's original question.  Hmm... I wonder whether "carnivorous" was applied to the wrong animal?  Kahless (p.43) establishes sarks are carnivorous.

But no matter which mount you prefer, if you're a serious rider don't forget your {ba'qIn} (saddle):

PICARD: 	Then I have enough time to back to the ship and get my saddle. 
TROI: 		Your saddle? 
PICARD: 	Yes. A saddle is a very personal thing. It has to be broken in, used, 
		cared for. 
LAFORGE: 	You keep a saddle on board the Enterprise? 
PICARD: 	Oh yes, yes. I never know when I'll have the opportunity to ride. 
TROI: 		I see. 
PICARD: 	It's perfectly normal. Most serious riders do have their own saddles. 
TROI: 		Of course. 
   	[ …. ]
WORF: 		Captain, you keep a saddle on board? 
RIKER: 		Mister Worf, I'm surprised at you. 
CRUSHER: 	Anyone who is an experienced rider naturally has his own saddle. 
TROI:		It's perfectly normal. 
PICARD: 	Actually, it came in handy. I only wish I'd had the opportunity 
		to use it on a horse. 
WORF: 		Of course.   			[TNG “Starship Mine”]


-----------------------------------Original Message------------------------------
From: DloraH via tlhIngan-Hol
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 12:57 PM

My copy does not have a glossary.  Nor does it use footnotes.

On page 43:
"A burden beast, prized in good times for its strength and its ability to plow a field."

The milk and cheese reference is apparently on another page.

And with regard to the s'tarahk, p43:
"Otherwise, the s'tarahk might have been tempted to feed on the carcass,..."

And p178:
"For two days, Kahless drove his s'tarahk mercilessly, pausing only for the 
 animal to munch on grass and groundnuts, and to water itself."

===================================================================

On Mon, 2024-12-02 at 16:55 +0000, Steven Boozer via tlhIngan-Hol wrote:

> IIRC my quote came from a glossary of Klingon terms at the back of
> the book, so “carnivorous” would be part of the definition. 
> Coincidentally, there’s another “omnivorous riding animal” called a
> *s'tarahk* in the book which some fans believe to be a dialectical
> variant of {Sargh} “sark”.
> 
> I have the novel listed in my notes under “Other Sources” which
> implies that Okrand may have provided some vocabulary.  Does anyone
> have a copy they can check?
> 
> 
> From: De'vID <de.vid.jonpin at gmail.com>
> Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2024 1:10 AM
> On Wed, Mar 8, 2023 at 4:22 PM Steven Boozer ... wrote:
> 
> [mInHor] (?)    minn'hor (n)
>   -  "An ox-like carnivorous animal used for riding" (Kahless [J.M.
>       Friedman's pro novel])
>   -  “The *minn'hor* is a beast of burden (similar to cattle), the
>       milk of which is used to make cheese.” (Felix, 7/25/2016)
> 
> A question came up about this on another forum (Discord), but what is
> the source that the minn'hor is "carnivorous"? Is this explicitly
> stated or is there some passage in the novel Kahless which implies
> this?