tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue May 07 14:11:29 1996

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Re: Consonant Clusters

According to Mark Mandel:
> 
> Sa' qIQwI', jughItlh:
> >>>>>
> 
> > -y' and -w' are also consonant clusters.
> 
> Are not. TKD lists y and w as vowels as far as I can recall.
> y = diphthong forming I w = diphthong forming u
> 
> <<<<<
> bIlughbe'. cha'logh yIlaDqa'. 
> 
> <y> and <w> are consonants (TKD p. 16: the first thing you should
> reread). Vowel + {y or w} in the same syllable forms a diphthong.
... 
> But where is that stated?  You know I'm going to keep harping on this
> until somebody gives me a page number. {{;-) (Why do I have a feeling
> the answer is, "Well, it's not stated.  But they're the only ones we've
> seen." So the above statement would need to be amended with "at this
> point in time.")

While it is not stated in TKD, in HolQeD Volume 1, Number 1
there is an excellent explanation of Klingon phenominology...
phenomi...phenomonomonomonomonolology... Whatever.

Anyway, all canon examples still fit this description of
combinations of sounds. There are no exceptions. In that
description, {w} and {y} are listed as consonants, and {w'} and
{y'} are listed as consonant clusters allowed at the end of a
syllable, as is {rgh}. If you want the documentation, see
HolQeD Volume 1, Number 1.

Back issues? I didn't NEED to buy a back issue. I was THERE.
Charter Member, and proud of it.

> The syllable structure of Klingon, as deduced from the available data, can
> be summed up in about four sentences. 
> 
> 1. The vowels are a, e, I, o, u; the consonants are b, ch, D, gh, H, j, l, m,
> n, ng, p, q, Q, r, S, t, tlh, v, w, y, '.  [This follows or accompanies a
> description of each sound.]
> 
> 2. Every syllable starts with exactly one consonant plus exactly one
> vowel.
> 
> 3. The vowel of a syllable may be followed by any single consonant,
> except that the rounded vowels [o and u, for which you round your lips]
> cannot be followed by w (the rounded semivowel).
> 
> 4. The vowel of a syllable may be followed by <w'> (with the same
> restriction as in 3), <y'>, or <rgh>.
> 
> This description says nothing about relative frequency, but it completely
> describes permitted and forbidden syllables. You can apply these rules
> to any possible sequence of Klingon sounds (=letters, in Okrand's
> transcription) and discover whether that sequence forms a "legal"
> syllable according to them; every canonical Klingon word can be broken
> into "legal" syllables; and I don't think there's any substantively different
> way to describe the data in equivalent detail.

Good description, though it implies that syllables may be open
(no closing consonant) without explicitly stating it. The last
two laws could be misconstrued to mean that the vowel may
either be followed by a single consonant OR by one of the
allowed consonant clusters, withOUT allowing open syllables. If
law 3 began, "The vowel of the syllable may end the syllable or
may be followed by..." then I think it would be clearer.
Borrowing heavily from your four laws, I offer your first law
be followed instead perhaps by:

2. All Klingon syllables have length of two to four characters,
the first of which is always a consonant and the second of
which is always a vowel.

3. Three lettered syllables end with any single consonant,
except that the rounded vowels [o and u, for which you round
your lips] cannot be followed by w (the rounded semivowel).

4. Four lettered syllables end with <w'> (with the same
restriction as in 3), <y'>, or <rgh>.

> 
>       marqem, tlhIngan veQbeq la'Hom -- Heghbej ghIHmoHwI'pu'!
>      Subcommander Markemm, 
>             Klingon Sanitation Corps -- Death to Litterbugs!
> 
>                Mark A. Mandel : [email protected]
>    Dragon Systems, Inc. : speech recognition : +1 617 965-5200
> 320 Nevada St. : Newton, MA 02160, USA : http://www.dragonsys.com/

charghwI'
-- 
reH lugh charghwI' net Sov.

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