According to Bing Translator 'kitten' (in English) translates as 'kitten' (In Klingon).
Not that Klingons would enjoy the company of a fluffy kitten; but this is the internet. Surely there must be a word for it?
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11Are you searching for in- or out-universe reasons? In universe: Why would they have a word for 'kitten'? Klingons would rarely have contact to cats and even less contact to baby cats, so there's just no need. Also, why would they make up their own word? Humans didn't make up words for every klingon animal they discovered. Or is there a human word for 'Gagh'?– user36219Commented Dec 3, 2014 at 10:23
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14There is a word for it, and don't call me Shirley.– ValorumCommented Dec 3, 2014 at 10:51
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4They might enjoy the taste of one...– miltonautCommented Dec 3, 2014 at 12:12
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2Seriously, though, many Terran languages do not have direct translations into each other. For instance, 동생 is a Korean word that can mean "younger brother", "younger sister", or "person that is somewhat younger than me and is within my peer group but isn't related to me".– miltonautCommented Dec 3, 2014 at 12:22
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2Are you asking for a passable translation, or a reason there is no word in klingon for kitten? The title says one thing, the question body says another– David WilkinsCommented Dec 3, 2014 at 12:49
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2 Answers
Per the Klingon Wikia page for cat, the literal translation for kitten would be;
vIghro' Qup.
Young cat.
You might also consider
vIghro' ghu
Baby cat
Note that there's no direct translation of the word "cat" in the official Klingon language Dictionaries. In his Klingon for the Galactic Traveler, Mark Okrand (the creator of the Klingon Language) described the vIghro' as being a...
Type of animal, (like a cat) (n)
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2How far from a cat can vlghro' be? Lots of animals are cat-like but are not true cats, e.g. sleek little carnivores in other families besides Felidae. For example, Arctic fox (Canidae), images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/…, mink (Mustelidae), jeaniron.ca/2008/mink3523.jpg, dwarf mongoose (Herpestidae) upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/…. Commented Dec 3, 2014 at 15:16
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@La-comadreja, not to mention fictional alien catlike creatures.– Brian SCommented Dec 3, 2014 at 15:35
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1@BrianS that raises a different set of questions altogether--what aspects we associate with cats would have developed, why they would have developed, and what Klingons think is "cat-like." On earth there are a lot of small animals that reproduce rapidly and can be hunted with concentration, subtlety and quickness. There are also cold climates where being a little fuzzy creature is an adaptation to the weather. But do these things, or other things, become ways for Klingons to categorize an animal. Commented Dec 3, 2014 at 15:42
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5There's a joke behind the word {vIghro'}: it's the Klingon pronunciation of "Figaro", the cat in Disney's Pinocchio. So, what Marc Okrand had in mind when he invented that word is exactly a cute little kitten, though of course that doesn't mean that, in-universe, a {vIghro'} necessarily looks like that.– De'vIDCommented Dec 3, 2014 at 17:58
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1@De'vID - I found the reference to Figaro on speakklingon.info/wiki/Puns_in_the_Vocabulary_of_tlhIngan_Hol. Is there any other confirmation of this?– ValorumCommented Dec 3, 2014 at 18:17
I kinda think there is no Klingon word for "kitten." Perhaps one way to approach this is to consider what the Universal Translator would do. We know that English speakers hear a Klington talk about his "targ." While Klingons treat targs very much like humans treat dogs--including eating them--the UT says "targ" not "dog."
I bet if you were telling a Klingon about how cute your adorable wittle kitty witty woockums was, he would probably hear the UT say "kitten" (and then he would kill you).
There are plenty of alien creatures that have Earth counterparts, in the which case they are referred to as such, e.g., Hupyrian beetle (in Ferengi snuff). But where there is no real similarity to Earth creatures, the UT will simply use the native word.
"Gagh" is a dish made from "serpent worm," so when a Klingon says "gagh" he is talking about food not worms. Like "steak" vs. "cow."
I'm just saying.
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9As the other answer says, vIghro' is a Klingon animal that is "like a cat". If names are given for humans in the form of "Hupyrian beetle" for something Hupyrian that is similar to an Earth beetle, then it follows that an Earth cat would be translated as tera'ngan vIghro' (Terran vIghro') for Klingons.– nmcleanCommented Dec 3, 2014 at 18:52