tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jul 15 14:15:26 1998
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Re: learning the language
- From: Robyn Stewart <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: learning the language
- Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 14:14:14 -0700 (PDT)
---Chris Lipscombe wrote:
>
> Qov
>
> I would love to get a copy of the mail.
Qov's autobiography sent by e-mail.
> I recently started up a Klingon language group here
> in Bloomington, IN, and
> we have about 5 members. One is very
> enthusiastic, the others aren't that
> much and I would love to know the best way for
> someone to go about helping
> others to learn the language.
>
> They have Klingon Dictionaries but I think they find > the idea of
learning a
> whole language a bit daunting.
It IS daunting. Your friends are actually ahead of some people who
think it should be really easy, and then are confused and discouraged
when they can't learn it instantly.
People who are enthusiastic need only the dictionary and a quiet
corner to read it in. You can help by talking to them in Klingon and
saying "did you notice how <such and such> works?" or "There are some
things that aren't in the dictionary. You can subscribe to this list
where helpful experienced speakers will answer your questions."
People who are mildly interested you can get to join in by providing a
few correct, amusing, and useful phrases and getting them to learn them.
/bIjeghbe'chugh vaj bIHegh/ is a good one. You can then teach
substitutions like /bISopbe'chugh vaj bIghung/ or /HIQaHbe'chugh vaj
qaHoH/. Bit by bit you add in new verbs or new prefixes. Learning
Klingon truly does take work, and people won't do the work unless they
want to.
Here's a suggestion. Make up a list of very specific vocabulary for a
specific purpose. Eating in a restaurant, for example. Teach it,
practice it in the group, make up a list of phrases people can read
from, and then go to the restaurant and try it. People tend to go for
the challenge of appearing to be fluent,, even though they are just
saying variations on /Soj vIneH/ over and over again. Many people
will be happy that they 'speak Klingon' just from knowing ten phrases
and being able to say them one after the other. Their friends
willthink thy are fluent. I know this because I have been introduced
to numerous 'fluent speakers' of Klingon who only knew set phrases.
Gradually I'm learning to be gracious about it. Even Marc Okrand has
been heard to string together a few unrelated set phrases when asked
to say something, just to sound impressive.
==
Qov - Beginners' Grammarian
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