tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Sep 27 17:45:32 1994
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Pronunciation (Was: Re: KLBC: jItagh)
On Tue, 27 Sep 1994, ...Paul wrote:
> >From: KLI Round Table Acct <[email protected]>
> >Date: Tue, 27 Sep 1994 13:27:51 -0400 (EDT)
> >Subject: Re: Pronunciation (Was: Re: KLBC: jItagh)
> >
> >> I've come to the conclusion that "q" is almost exactly like a "k" in English
> ,
> >> and "Q" is a "k" with the German "ch" after it, and then "H" is simply the
> >> German "ch" without any hard k at all... But I have a lot of trouble
> >> getting my "Q"s to sound much different than my "H"s... :(
> >>
> >> ...Paul
> >
> >I don't believe this is a warranted conclusion to reach. Okrand tells us
> >that the Klingon "q" is rather like the English "k" in "kumquat" only not
> >quite. Not all that helpful. Though he does go on to describe tongue
> >placement. I believe his example is there to let us know that the "k" is
> >what a linguist would call a "stop" or a "plosive" sound, which describes
> >the manner in which the phoneme is produced. The details on placement of
> >the tongue round out the description. In fact, the really telling thing
> >here is the placement which Okrand describes as being considerably
> >further back in the mouth than is typical for the English "k" sound (or
> >the Klingon "gh" or "H" for that matter).
> >
> >When Okrand compares "Q" to "H" and "q" he describes the "Q" as being
> >raspy and strongly articulated. From this description (and his examples
> >on the tapes) I have taken him to mean that the "Q" has the same manner
> >as the "H," which is to say it is a "fricative" (not a "stop" or
> >"plosive" like the "q") but that it is made in the same place as the "q"
> >which makes sense given the delightful choking sound it produces.
> >
> >Comments?
> >
> >Lawrence
>
> We could just chalk it up to dialect... :) However, I do disagree with
> your reading on "Q". Especially given the ever-present example of
> Qapla', I think it definitely has an impact signature, unlike "H", which
> is a incremental buildup, with no impact spike.
>
> Example: Try pronouncing Qapla', and then Hapla' (don't care if it's not
> a word, just an example in pronounciation). If "Q" goes by your definition,
> it would be VERY difficult to tell the difference. IMHO, the "H" takes on
> more of a gutteral hiss. (I think I do the "H" really well, since I had
> three years of practice in high school German class pronouncing "ich" and
> all sorts of other "ch" words. Unfortunately, I can only get a good
> gutteral "Q" out after eating a few Snickers bars, when my mouth and
> throat are coated with chocolate... But if I eat too many, I won't be
> a fit Klingon... ;)
I think it is interesting how everyone is articulating these sounds
differently. Here is my interpretation:
If "H" is the "ch" in "Bach", then it is a velar fricative. Your tongue is
raised towards the soft part of the roof of your mouth (the velum).
You make a raspy sound as the air flows between the back of your
tongue and the velum. If you raised the back of the tongue all the way up
and shut off the airflow, then you would have a "k" (a velar stop).
"q" is further back in the throat than a "k". It is called a uvular stop
because the back of your tongue touches the uvula (the little
punching-bag dangling from the back of your mouth).
I think "Q" is an aspirated uvular affricative. An affricative is a stop
accompanied by a fricative. You start by making a "q", with the back of
the tongue closing off the air by touching the back of the roof of the
mouth. Then you force the air through and make a rasping sound.
Its really not as complicated as I'm making it sound. A different example
of an affricative is the English sound /ch/ as in "church". /ch/ consists
of a stop /t/, followed by a fricative /sh/. I think Paul has the right
idea about pronouncing "Q", but I think you probably need to make the
sound a little further towards the back of your mouth.
Personally, the sound I have the most trouble with is "rgh". I seem to
be unable to make this combination of sounds without making a uvular
trill (the punching-bag in the back of my throat vibrates like a French "r").
> ...Paul
yoDtargh