ra'taj

raktaj, coffee with liquor, type of beverage

Part of speech

noun

Pronunciation

rɑʔtʰɑd͡ʒ

Sound out ra'taj letter by letter:

• rrlightly trilled or rolled r
• aɑa as in 'father'
• 'ʔglottal stop, the catch in 'uh-oh'
• ttʰstrongly aspirated t
• aɑa as in 'father'
• jd͡ʒj as in 'junk'

• As a rule, coffee is consumed plain---that is, black---but some Klingons prefer to mix other ingredients in with the coffee. If some kind of HIq (liquor) is added to the coffee, the drink is called ra'taj. It is said that the drink was originally nicknamed ra'wI' taj (commander's knife, suggestive of its potency), and that the name was shortened over time. This often repeated story cannot be confirmed. In any event, ra'taj became one of the few Klingon foods to become popular outside of the Empire, though in an altered form. Instead of containing liquor, as does the genuine Klingon ra'taj, the "export" version (which came to be pronounced raktaj in Federation Standard) consists of strong Klingon coffee plus a nutlike flavoring. Eventually, a new fashion developed---adding cream to the raktaj---and with this innovation came yet another name, raktajino, modeled after the name of another popular coffee drink, cappuccino. Raktajino is now served hot or iced, with or without extra cream, and with or without the rind of some fruit to add even more flavor. Though it is sometimes called Klingon coffee, it is quite different from both plain qa'vIn and the alcoholic ra'taj. [KGT p.96]
• raktajino (ra'taj) Coffee, Klingon style. [First seen in "The Passenger" (DS9).] [DI p.245]

Entries differ and have been combined here. The translation of ra'taj as raktajino (in DI) is here ignore (in light of the longer explanation from KGT).

• qa'vIn — coffee, type of beverage
• 'awje' — type of beverage (root beer)

KGT

Originally sourced from klingonska.org and enhanced by lingoXpress.