Need help with an appropriate word for "goat."

[trase]

Good Evening,

I've been trying to Google my way to figuring this out on my own, but have not been able to find a good answer. I am hoping that someone here may be able to assist. As a goatkeeper, I would like to know the Klingon word for "goat." We are in the process of adopting a young wether whom we would like to bestow this name upon. Does anyone know if a "Tknag" would be a close parallel to a Terran goat? I see that it is a hooved animal; however, I have also seen recipes that call for pig hooves, so perhaps this animal is also reminiscent of a boar, like a Targ. If Tknag is a close approximation to a goat, am I pronouncing it right as, "tic-NAHG"? If anyone can offer some insight into this, I would greatly appreciate it!
K'adlo,
Trase

[El Payaso Malo]

I don't know if a tIqnagh is goatlike. All I know is that its hooves are eaten and it involves a ritual hunt. That said, it is the closest candidate that I can find. Other animals are the Sargh "Sark," a horse-ish animal and a tangqa', which is like a cow or bull. Your pronunciation is close enough without actually speaking Klingon.

[qurgh_]

When I was younger my parent had two goats, so this question really interested me.

I've been pondering on it and tIqnagh maybe the "best" choice. I have a feeling that it's more like a deer though. Maybe tIqnaghHom - minor tIqnagh.

A Sargh is a riding beast, you can't ride a goat. I'd use it for horse though.

I always thought of a tangqa' as a large creature, way bigger than a goat. This would cover bovines.

[El Payaso Malo]

Perhaps you could name your goat after a quality. If you descibe the goat's behavior of appearance, I can give you some cool choices. Or you can name it phonetically, perhaps ghot, but that means "person."

When I was younger my parent had two goats, so this question really interested me.

I've been pondering on it and tIqnagh maybe the "best" choice. I have a feeling that it's more like a deer though. Maybe tIqnaghHom - minor tIqnagh.

A Sargh is a riding beast, you can't ride a goat. I'd use it for horse though.

I always thought of a tangqa' as a large creature, way bigger than a goat. This would cover bovines.

I only mentioned the other two because they seemed like they would go in a similar setting. But now that i think about it, a tIgnagh does sound more deer-like to me.

[trase]

Wow, thanks everyone. I kind of suspected that there wasn't a direct equivalent - particularly when thinking about how Q insulted Worf by calling him a "Klingon goat." Surely if there was such a creature, he would have used the proper word, and not a borrowed Terran word.

I had already started leaning toward the idea of a quality/adjective instead, and so I truly appreciate the offer to assist with that! I am still getting to know the little guy; he is still with the original herd at our friend's farm. However, he should be joining us in another week or so (I hope!) and I will watch his behavior to see how his personality manifests - and then let you know!

K'adlo,
Trase

[El Payaso Malo]

I'll be waiting.
 

[trase]

This is a photo of the little guy, just to give you an advance look at him. It looks like we might be getting him later this week, or this weekend - so I will be back with more personality trait observations after that!

[trase]

Well, the little guy came home with us on Saturday night, so I've had a couple of days with him. He's only nine weeks old, so he's still a baby, and as such, his personality is still forming. I will say he's quite affectionate and fond of attention, but I'm not sure that there are words for those qualities that would be an appropriate name. Hmm. He has a very interesting little voice. Here's a weird question - is there any type of word equivalent to "Castrato" in Klingon? Considering that he's wether (castrated) and his voice is kind of high as a result, that thought did occur to me!

[qurgh_]

No, unfortunately there isn't.

I didn't realize they neutered them so young (both the goats I had were females).

[El Payaso Malo]

Based on appearance, you could name him qIjwI' ("one that is black") or mInQeH (which is "angry eyes" as one word). I was going to name a weasel lam ("dirt; be dirty").

[trase]

Thanks for the ideas. I think I may be onto something - he is very vocal. I mean VERY vocal. I was thinking of Gheb ("horn"). Thoughts? And any pointers on *proper* pronunciation?

K'adlo,
Trase

[El Payaso Malo]

That could work. Perhaps chuS ("be noisy") or jatwI' ("mumbler; one who speaks incoherently"). As for pronunciation, the letter gh is the one with which I have had the most trouble. It is pronounced similar to a French "r." Klingon H is just like Spanish "j" (as in Jalisco) and German "ch" (as in Bach), and gh is an overdone H. Basically, pronounce H, but hum at the same time to get gh. If you are speaking it as an English word, pronouncing gh as if the "g" it "get" is usually acceptable.

Note:
I'm not sure how much you know about the language, but Klingon has no capitalization. I suppose "Gheb" would be fine if used in an English sentence, such as "Gheb scared the cat." If used in Klingon, though, it might be confusing or seen as an error. It would be rendered as vIghro' ghIjpu' gheb. Also, gheb is a three letter word. Personally, I like to use verbs or ungrammatical verbs joined with nouns (or just meaningless syllables) instead of just nouns, simply because people more easily realize it is a name if a verb is used as a noun. Otherwise, it could be interpreted as "The horn scared the cat." A way around that is to announce gheb ‘oH SajwIj pong’e’ ("My pet's name is Gheb"). But that is just personal preference on my part, and gheb is a very creative name indeed.

[trase]

Thank you for all of the helpful info. I know very little bits of the language; years ago I would listen to the Power Klingon cassette with friends and attempt to learn it. I simply adore learning languages in general, and at different points in my life, have attempted French, Spanish, German, Mandarin, Gaelic, and Latin. As a result, I have a smattering of words I recognize in each, and can say some very basic phrases in some, but I am far from conversational. I've always been better at recognizing the written word, and have had trouble with pronunciation, try as I might! Speaking of which, would it be safe to say that the gh sound is similar to the Yiddish ch-, as in chutzpah? Also, would the -eb be a long or short e, or a different sound altogether? I know I'm a total newb, and I appreciate all of the assistance. I may not be fluent in any language except English, but the foreign words I do know, I try to pronounce properly! 

[El Payaso Malo]

As far as I know, the Yiddish "ch-" in "chutzpah" would be pronounced like Klingon H, as gh is way more guttural sounding. It is not a sound you can whisper easily. The e is pronounced as it English "get."

I've noticed Klingon has a lot in common with languages such as Matsun (about which the language's creator wrote a thesis) and Navajo, with minor similarities with Norwegian and Japanese.

I am also interested in languages, and have been studying them quite frequently, lately.