tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Aug 20 20:44:46 1996
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Message for beginners
- From: [email protected] (HoD trI'Qal)
- Subject: Message for beginners
- Date: Tue, 20 Aug 1996 23:45:55 -0400
Hi there!
As you may or may not know, I am HoD trI'Qal (Captain T'rkal), and I am the
new Beginner's Grammarian for the list.
The position of Beginner's Grammarian has always been a special one. It was
created many years ago, at the demand of a number of new Klingonist, who
very much wanted to learn the language... but the volume on the list was too
great for the current Grammarians to devote as much time and attention to
the new students as they needed/wanted. These enterprising students
started speaking more to each other, as they felt that the other beginenrs
were on a comparble language level. They started flagging their messages
with KLBC in the beginning of the subject line, so that other new students
would know who they were (If I remember right, it stands for "Klingon
Language Beginers' Conversations, or somthing similar). Seeing the need to
have a Grammarian devoted to new speakers, the existing Grammarians asked
for volunteers from the "intermediate" speakers to help the newer speakers..
and created the position of Begnner's Grammarian, which, every couple of
months, changes hands to a new Beginner's Grammarian (this is because the
position is very time-consuming and demanding of the person who is BG; it is
also because it is a GREAT learning experience for people who have the
basic grammar down very well, and want to help others learn).
This is the second time I have had the honour to serve as BG. The first time
was as the first-ever BG, and I am delighted (after a few years' rest :) ) to be
back here again to help all of you, however I can, to learn the Klingon
Language.
In order for me to better help you, though, I need *you* to help *me*:
1. Please have KLBC at the beginning of your Subject: lines. That lets me
(and the other Grammarians) know that your post is intended for me,
rather than the list in general. If you do forget it, I will still respond
to your post, but I might be slower in doing it, as I may have to give
priority to
anything already flagged KLBC at times.
2. When you post, I ask that you put only one sentence of Klingon on a line
(or part of a sentence, if it is longer than one line). If you need to use
more than one line, please indent the following line(s), so that I know they
are part of the same concept (or double-space between each sentence,
etc... just so long as I can tell that *these* lines are one sentence, and
*that* line is another). I also ask that you use punctuation, as that makes
it easier for me to see how to parse your grammar; if I cannot clearly
understand you, then I will have a hard time offering corrections.
3. Please include the English translation of your Klingon attemps in your
post. It doesn't have to be a "word-for-word" translation--in fact, I would
prefer it if it were not! Just include the intended meaning of the sentence.
Again, this is so that I can see what (if any) grammar errors you have
made, and offer corrections or alternate ways of expressing the concept
you have in mind.
4. *Please* do NOT transliterate! Transliteration is where you spell a non-
Klingon word with Klingon letters (pISSa' for "pizza" for example). When
you transliterate a word, it is very confusing to other beginners (and
myself!), because we have to go searching through the Dictionary to look
for a word... and can't find it. If there is an English (French, German,
Spanish, etc... just bear in mind that I may not understand it if it is not
English...) word that you cannot translate, feel free to drop it into the
sentence where it would go if it were the Klingon word... but put ""s
(double quotes) around it. If you don't like double-quotes, feel free to use
something else, just make it clear what you are using and why you are
using it; the important thing is that the word is "flagged" as being "non-
Klingon", so others don't spend a lot of time trying to find it in the
dictionary. For example, I would just say: "pizza" vIparHa' if I wanted to
say "I like pizza".
5. If you are quoteing someone, and you translate their quote, please use <<
>>'s around the quotation, so tht I can tell what is quote, and what is the
rest of your sentence. Again, this is just to help me parse your sentence,
so I can more easily see what you are doing, and see if it is grammatical
or not.
6. Try to send SOMETHING in Klingon. If you don't use a language, you will
not learn it! I'm here to help you learn... but I can't do that, if I can't see
what you are doing/thinking. I *do* ask that you try to start simple--don't
go trying to translate Shakespeare, or Beowulf, or even your favourite song
or poem right off the bat. Unfortunately, that is what most people DO to
start with, and usually, get frustrated with all the problems they have,
because they haven't got the basic grammar nailed down yet (yes, I did it,
too :) ). That's why the last word in KLBC is "conversations"--if you start off
talking about every-day things... where you went that day, the cute dog
you saw, etc., your sentences will generally be much simpler, and you can
change the wording around, if you can't find a nice translation for your first
attempt (this is called "re-casting"; it is one of your most useful tools!)
7. Please don't try to correct another Beginner's post, even in Klingon. I ask
that for my peace of mind... if you correct them, and your corrections are
wrong, I now have to correct *both* you and them. If I have already
responded to a post, it is open season for anyone else to offer alternate
translations... but I should warn you, if you offer another suggestion, and
your grammar is incorrect... I'll correct you as well. :) It would be better if
you didn't try to correct other beginners as a general rule, though.
8. There are a number of grammatical debates that are on-going on the list. If
I find that something you have posted falls into this realm, I will point this
out, and either offer you mutliple methods of translating your phrase, or a
way to 'get around" the issue. Sometimes, these debates get started
under the KLBC header. If they do, I ask the you change the Subject:
line, so that you can continute your debate, but not confuse other
Beginners with it. In fact, if you are debating with a more experienced
Klingon speaker, they should be the one to transfer it out of KLBC. If they
don't, you can feel free to move it out yourself... usually, the subject is
changed to <new subject> (was: KLBC: <old subject>)
9. I am here to help you; ask me questions. I can't read your mind... if you
are confused about something, I can't help you, unless you let me know!
*** There is NO SUCH THING as a "stupid question:!!!!!! ***
10. If you don't want to post something to the list at large, feel free to ask
me in private email: [email protected]. *Anything* posted under the
KLBC header is fair game for me to correct, no matter who posts it
(experienced or not!). I will feel free to use anything send as an example
as I see fit. This is not intended to shame anyone; just so that other
beginners can benfit from your errors as well--and also so they can benefit
from your correct sentences as well!
11. Please follow all the other conventions of the list!
12. Finally, and MOST IMPORTANT.... *** HAVE FUN *** If you aren't
enjoying yourself, why are you here???
I know that's a rather lengthy list of things to remember, but they really all
make sense; I hope you will get used to them... and I usually don't scream
and shout if you goof up on one of these points (hey, anyone can have a bad
day. :/), but I *will* try to remind you if you do.
Remember; I'm here to *help* YOU... so... use me and abuse me! {{:)
--trI'Qal
---
HoD trI'Qal, tlhIngan wo' Duj lIy So' ra'wI'
Captain T'rkal, Commander IKV Hidden Comet
Klingon speaker and net junkie!
HaghtaHbogh tlhIngan yIvoqQo'! toH... qatlh HaghtaH Qanqor HoD???
monlI'bogh tlhInganbe' yIvoqQo'! SoHvaD monlI' trI'Qal...