tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Sep 10 18:11:22 1993

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Re: law' puqpu'

     As for being corrected by the profoundly honorable Captain Krankor, I
completely accept his suggestions, with one exception:

> >     Is there no verb for "be born"? The first effort should always be to
> >structure the sentence around some verb other than "to be".
> 
> Why?  Please cite the page number that supports this conclusion.
> Contrary to some popular beliefs, "to be" is not a leper or a
> stepchild, it is a perfectly valid part of tlhIngan Hol.  I don't
> give a damn what Okrand said about his personal feelings toward it;
> he put it into the language and it's there.  He also put in nuqneH
> with some misgivings, but that doesn't mean we go around telling
> people to avoid saying it.

     "I don't give a damn what Okrand said about his personal feelings toward
it..." HoSqu' mumeylIj. On this, I think we have a difference of opinion, and
as much as I respect HoD Qanqor, I cannot in good conscience offer him higher
authority on tlhIngan Hol than Okrand.

     Using Krankor's arguement, we could start "taH"ing everything because of
the regrettable line: "taH pagh taHbe'." Hey, it's RIGHT THERE IN THE
DICTIONARY, RIGHT?

     Each of us has skills, talents and perspectives worthy of respect. While
I am less of a linguist than most on this list, my efforts have been to
understand the link between Klingon Language and Culture; the Klingon
personality expressed through the language.

     That was the topic of my single conversation with Okrand. I was seeking
things in the language that expressed the alien nature of the culture. Okrand
brought up the example of his intent to structure the language away from the
verb "to be". That's why there are all those "be hot" or "be few" verbs in
the language. There's a real, intentional thrust away from "to be" built into
the Klingon language at its core.

     Krankor points to 6.3, page 67. Fine. Read it. "There is no verb
corresponding to English TO BE in Klingon." Following that are seven
sentences and six examples intended to be aids in working around the absence
of the verb "taH" later awkwardly added under pressure from the producers in
ST6.

     I think it no wiser to tell people to NOT tell people to avoid "to be"
than to tell them to avoid using "to be". It is a difference of opinion
between two people with good reasons for believing each is right. It is not a
correct statement by an authority vs. an incorrect statement by one lacking
authority.

     I also still believe that gender is somewhat less important to the
Klingon mindset than the human one. There are no verbs for "be female" or "be
male", there are no affixes as such for this function and there are four,
count 'em, FOUR words in the ENTIRE LANGUAGE (six, if you count the noun-noun
combination with "child") that make any reference to gender whatsoever. Are
you really so sure this is a casual omission? 

     As for the culture, a girl is as likely to grow up to be a great soldier
as a boy. About the only functional difference between them relates directly
to who plugs what into whom and who bears the child.

     But my original comment on gender was intended to be casual and I will
accept the correction in that area. "To be", however, is, IMESHO, a verb that
truely should be avoided whenever possible by anyone seeking to UNDERSTAND
Klingon, as opposed to being merely able to change English words into Klingon
words, like those who think Signed English is Amslan.

     So as to avoid the inaccurate perception that this indicates a lack of
respect for Captain Krankor, I wish express a strong statement to the
contrary. I have seen no one else post Klingon text with the clarity and
grace that Qanqor displays with dependable regularity. He speaks Klingon
better than Okrand speaks Klingon. He is without peer. I believe it is futile
for me to aspire to acquiring more than a pale shadow of Krankor's skill at
speaking the language.

     Still, I believe he is capable of error, and the ease with which he
embraces direct translation of sentences based on the "to be" verb is the one
area where I believe him consistently misguided. On this, I would face him,
ridge to ridge.

--   charghwI'

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