tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 01 20:39:08 1996

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Re: pongwIj DavID nuqneH

Dave S. writes:
>pongwIj DavID nuqneH
>(Hey, there, my name's David)

Welcome to the "front" of the list, David!  If more of the lurkers would
come forward, we could have many more exciting conversations.  If you've
missed all of my many introductions, here's the short form:

You can call me ghunchu'wI'.  I am the list's Beginner's Grammarian right
now, and my duty is to help people who are starting their studies of the
Klingon language.  If I see the codeword "KLBC" in the subject of a note,
I'll try to respond to that note quickly, in order to answer questions or
check grammar, or simply to offer my opinion of a translation.

>Okay, okay, needs some work, but hey this *is* my first message to this forum

{nuqneH} probably isn't the right way to initiate a conversation.  It has
become very common among Klingon-speaking Terrans, but I'm sure that's due
to a uniquely human compulsion to be polite.  There's no need to preface
your note with anything in particular; just come right out and get to the
point.

Except for exclamations such as {HIja'} and {pItlh}, all Klingon sentences
need a verb.  The verb in "My name is David" is "is".  Look at TKD section
6.3 for an explanation of using pronouns to mean "to be".  I usually would
translate this as {pongwIj 'oH DavID'e'}.  The prounoun {'oH} is translated
here as "it is", and the suffix {-'e'} is part of the formula for a "to be"
sentence with a stated subject.

>I have a quick question that's been gnawing at me since I started lurking
>amongst you guys.  Do you know this so well that you can just kind of come up
>with thlingan Hol off the top of your heads, or do you consult TKD?

I know the grammar well enough that I can write sentences without resorting
to the dictionary, but I often do have to look up some of the actual words.
Knowing the prefixes and suffixes makes it a lot easier to look up just the
root noun or verb.  Many words are common enough that I've learned them "by
accident" without really trying, and many "stock" phrases are used so often
that I understand their meaning without even needing to translate them!  For
example, {qaStaHvIS wa' jaj} goes directly to the part of my brain that puts
together meanings; I don't have to think about what the words mean.  Even if
I can't remember how to translate a particular word, I usually remember that
the word exists and I can look it up.  I have gotten past the point where I
need to translate each word and rearrange them into English; I can read the
Klingon grammar as it is.

>Also:  I have a good friend who used to teach Japanese and one of the things he
>told me is one the most important things with learning a new language is to
>*use* it -- both writing (which this forum is a great outlet for) and
>*speaking*.

I'd go farther, and say that using a language is the *only* way to learn it.

>But let's face it, finding someone who speaks Klingon is a stretch.
>What do most folks do?

I talk to myself a lot, mostly in the car, occasionally in the shower.
Sometimes I read the messages from the mailing list out loud.

>I studied this language about a year and a half ago and
>was doing fairly well, but I didn't have an outlet in which to verbally use
>tlhIngan Hol, so it eventually fell to wayside -- not because I grew bored, but
>because I had a tough time retaining it without being able to use it.

The mailing list is a fantastic way to use it.  Stick around.

>This is a great language and a hell of a lot of fun.  I want to be able to stick
>with it this time, and I need as much advice as possible in this area.

Find other people nearby who speak Klingon.  Find other people nearby who
*don't* speak Klingon, and teach them!  Come to the qep'a' wejDIch.

-- ghunchu'wI'               batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj

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