tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Jul 19 10:26:35 2003
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Teaching Klingon
- From: "Lawrence Schoen" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Teaching Klingon
- Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2003 08:22:20 -0700
From: captain kalaa <[email protected]>
>I also want to teach it to my
>friends and loved ones, and have them use it as a part
>of their lives. I have one thing holding me back:
>being afraid to step on anyone's toes at the KLI.
You should not feel constrained by the KLI when it comes to
teaching people Klingon. The KLI exists to *promote* the study of
the language. The many resources on our website, the presence of
Beginners' Grammarians on this mailing list, and the regular
columns in our quarterly journal are all there for precisely that
reason.
What may have you feeling a bit cautious and concerned about the
KLI is our demand for quality instruction in Klingon. We're
picky, but for good reason. Ours is still a very small language
community, and as such care must be taken to ensure that when
people receive guidance in the language, they are not being
mistaught. We want to promote Klingon, but we also want new
speakers to be able to communicate with one another, regardless
of who has taught them.
That's one of the reasons we instituted our certification
process, a series of exams developed and maintained by Dr.
d'Armond Speers (aka Holtej), a former Beginners' Grammarian who
has wrestled with the kinds of questions all beginners face.
Thus, one of the activities that is scheduled for the qep'a' is
certification testing and the awarding of those nifty metal
badges for those individuals who successfully achieve each new
level.
I realize that not everyone who would like the chance to document
his/her proficiency and prowess with Klingon can make it to the
qep'a'. Toward that end, I try to make available other
opportunities (typically at major conventions) for setting aside
an hour or so for people to participate in certification testing.
In fact, where demand exists, we're always trying to accomodate
and arrange for a proctor (ideally someone who has already been
certified at the appropriate level) to provide the exam to anyone
who needs it.
I should also mention that KLI membership is not required in
order to receive certification testing. While we'd certainly like
anyone with that level of skill to be a member, our primary goal
to promote the language and not simply build up our membership.
Lawrence