tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Sep 27 10:48:31 1995
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Re: }} ST Communicator vItu'laHbe'!
- From: "William H. Martin" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: }} ST Communicator vItu'laHbe'!
- Date: Wed, 27 Sep 1995 10:48:31 -0400 (EDT)
According to Marc Ruehlaender:
>
> in this context I'd like to know, why people often
> (at least to me it seems to happen quite often)
> insert those extra ' into transliterated words.
I think the main reason, which goes beyond the current formula
for making Kligon syllables -- made by persons other than
Okrand -- is that I generally don't find words in Klingon with
more than one open syllable.
By that, I mean that we all know that you can have syllables
that follow the basic rules:
CVC
CV
CVrgh
CVy' [with restrictions on which vowel]
CVw' [with restrictions on which vowel]
Meanwhile, the second syllable type is relatively rare, and
even moreso rarely occurs more than once in a word.
In a verb, it happens with the prefix and in rare cases, it
happens in the verb stem. It doesn't happen on any of the
suffixes. In a noun, it happens on some stems, but not on any
of the suffixes (unless you want to argue about {-oy}).
> also, I think, british /r/ is nowhere near a klingon
> r but rather a klingon gh, what do you think?
I think this is arguable, but probably a matter of personal
taste and dialect. I'd see different Klingons attempting to
pronounce the Engish "r" with either {gh} or {r} depending on
their background, their hearing acuity (remember that some of
them have been very near a lot of explosions) and perhaps even
their mood.
> I'd like to know what you think of how I had
> transliterated the following names..
> >
> > mayqel Do'rIn = Michael Dorn
> mayqel Don (the <r> isn't pronounced anyway, or is it?)
vIparHa'. I can imagine a human trying to teach a Klingon how
to say "Dorn":
H: "Dorn"
K: {Don}
H: "Dooorrrrrrrnnnnnn"
K: {DorInne'}
H: [sharply] "Dorn!"
K: {Do'rIn}
H: "Doooorrrnnn"
K: {Dorne'}
H: "Doooorrrrrrnnnnnn"
K: [Pulls out the most convenient weapon for this distance and
dispatches with this nuisance.]
> > raqSan bIQ-DawSon = Roxann Biggs-Dawson
> ghaqSen bIqeS-DoSen (or is it pronounced as if it were
> Roxunn Biggs-Dowsone?)
I definitely prefer {bIQ} to {bIqeS}, and {raqSan} seems better
than {ghaqSen}, though {ghaqSan} might work. Then again,
"Dawson" might be better cast as {DawSen}.
The point is, this is arbitrary. That's what ghuyDo' wa' was
saying in response to MY vuDHom and I think he's right.
Transliteration is an awkward process. While it is good to try
to think like a Klingon and so think about how a Klingon might
HEAR an English word and then try to recreate it, the exercise
can quickly degrade into strong opinions based on weak
premises. When we presume to work this out better than others,
we are straying from the more core issue of using the language.
> Marc "Dochlangan"
charghwI'
--
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