tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 05 18:48:46 1995
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: KLBC: Federation Pronunciation
Tue, 5 Dec 1995, ghItlh HoS'etlh:
> Can someone help me with pronouncing the word:
>
> 'etlh (sword)
>
> If someone could show a rough pronunciation (similar to those shown in =
> TKD: A Selected List of Useful Klingon Expressions), I would be honored.
Using the system in that chapter, {'etlh} would be "etl".
However the pronunciations there are very crude approximations and don't
really tell you exactly what the word sounds like. {'etlh} does not
rhyme with "mettle".
The {'} in {'etlh}, you don't have to worry about. In English, when you
say a word beginning with a vowel, you normally start with a glottal stop
(the {'} sound).
The {e} is the same as the "e" in "met" or "let".
The {tlh} is tricker because it is a sound which does not occur in English.
To make the sound, position the tip of your tongue on the boney ridge
behind your upper teeth as if you are a making a "t" sound. Make a puff
of air while the tip of your tongue stays touching that ridge. The airflow
should blow out on both sides of the tongue, making a sudden hissing sound.
It's not a very hard sound to make. I find it a lot easier than some
other Klingon sounds. But to get a better idea of what {tlh} sounds like,
I recommend getting the Conversational Klingon audio tape. At the
beginning of the tape, Marc Okrand tells you how to pronounce
{Qu'vatlh}. The {tlh} in {Qu'vatlh} is the same sound as in {'etlh}.
> HoS'etlh
> aka Ben Warren
yoDtargh