tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jun 17 19:13:47 1996

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Re: new here

Katie (B'Elanna) writes:
>I'll put the words about and this where I need them.

I don't see any "about" or "this" in your message.  What did you mean?

>pongwIj Katie .
>'ach jIhtu' Hoch lo' tlhIngan pong vaj jIh lo' tlhIngan pong B'Elanna.
>jIh tu' vay' ghotpu' ja' Dochmey bID tlhIngan Dochmey ghobe' ja' vay'
>pong.

I had thought I was confused by your running sentences together, but now
it's obvious what the problem I was having really was.  You're apparently
translating pretty much word-for-word from english.  If I take each of the
words in isolation, ignoring for a moment any grammar, I think it says:
"My name Katie.  But I notice everyone uses a Klingon name so I use the
Klingon name B'Elanna.  I notice some people say things half Klingon
things no say somebody name."  Well, it falls apart at the end, but it's
clear that you aren't putting the words together using the grammatical
rules spelled out in The Klingon Dictionary.

Klingon is emphatically *not* just a code for english.  It has its own
distinct grammar.  Half of The Klingon Dictionary is devoted to explaining
how words and sentences are put together and how to interpret them after
they are put together.  I don't have the patience to teach someone correct
Klingon grammar from scratch; you'll have to spend some time studying the
descriptions and examples in The Klingon Dictionary.

You *do* have a copy of TKD, don't you?  There are several good translation
programs around now that can translate individual words, but I've never seen
one that can do even a rudimentary job of parsing complex sentences.  Unless
you know what prefixes and suffix are appropriate, and in what order to put
the words once you've translated them, anything you write won't be understood.

If you've read TKD, you don't understand it, and you still want to learn the
Klingon language, the Klingon Language Institute does sponsor a several-part
course by mail.  See http://www.kli.org/kli/projects.html#postcourse for more
information.

-- ghunchu'wI'               batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj

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