tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 08 22:18:44 1996

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Re: qaSovlu' jIneH & KLBC

macheq writes:
>HI, I would like to introduce mylself.

Welcome to the list, Maciek/macheq.  If you've been watching it for a few
weeks, you've probably heard my standard introduction, but just in case I
haven't sent the full spiel lately, here it is again:

I'm called ghunchu'wI', and I'm the list's current Beginners' Grammarian.
My job is specifically to help people who are beginning to learn to write
and/or speak tlhIngan Hol.

If you want feedback on what you have written, put KLBC (Klingon Language
Beginners' Conference) in the subject line of the message.  That tells me
that I should look at the message quickly.  I will be ready to assist you
with any questions you have, or to check your grammar, or simply to offer
my opinion on your writing.  The KLBC marker also indicates that the rest
of the people on the list ought not to jump in with their comments before
I have had a chance to give my response.

I do have a "real" job and a family besides this mailing list.  Please be
patient -- don't get upset if I haven't responded to your note in an hour
or two!  I will try to check my mail every evening, but I might go out of
town for the weekend, or I might have some extra schoolwork to do (yes, I
am also a student).  I might even take a real vacation, but I'll warn the
list first.


>...I think (hope!) Matt <majIq> is my namesake.

[I always thought {majIq} was named for his prestidigitation.]

>My second name, Stanislaw <SIta'nISlav> I TRANSLATE (yes! many
>of the Slavic first names do translate pretty well) as noychoHlu'wI'.

Hmm, a stative verb with the suffix {-lu'} is itself pretty strange,
but to then add {-wI'}?  I can't follow it.  Perhaps you don't quite
understand the meaning of the "indefinite subject" suffix.  Will you
please explain your derivation of this translation?  Maybe I will be
able to understand it, or maybe I will be able to help you translate
it more accurately.

>The last name Zieba <jemba'> being that of a bird I "translate"
>as <jemba'toQ>. Is it correct? <toQ> seems to be a "bird of prey", so not
>exactly "any bird", but nevertheless).

We don't really know *what* {toQ} means.  It might be a generic word for
"bird of prey" or "raptor", or it might be a specific kind of bird (like
a falcon or eagle), or it might merely be the name of the business group
that designed and built the ships.  It might even be a nonsense syllable
chosen to "sound" good, like the cars named Elantra or Concour.

>...at least I haven't been ST fan until I have discovered that it is a
>wonderful world with plenty of new languages!

Klingon seems to be the only Star Trek "language" with a definitive
grammar.

>...DaH nuQneH?

yIHaD.  yIghItlh.  yIqeq.  yIghoj.

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

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