tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 29 07:06:48 1996

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Re: KLBC: naDev jIH tu'lu'

Pardon my response to what seems to be an unanswered KLBC
subject line, but it already had "re:" in it and it seems to be
the sort of post seeking personal approaches to the double
glottal, etc. so...

According to Robyn Stewart:
> 
> DaH jISo'Ha'rup.

maj.

> qaSvIStaH tera' DIS wa'SanID Hutvatlh chorghmaH chorgh TKD vIje'.  'oH 
> vIlaDchu'.  muSey'moHtaH 'oH.  tlhIngan Hol lujatlh ghotpu' 'e' 
> vInejtaH.  Hol qab lujatlh ghotpu' 'e' vItu'pu'. tlhIngan Hol 
> luyajbe'law' chaH.  vItunglu'.  mu'ghom vIroQ.

Do'Ha'. qarHa'pu' ngoDqoqlIj. jatlhchu' nuvpu' puS.

> I'd heard of the KLI, but thought it was a joke. 

This depends on your definition of "joke". I prefer to think of
it as a joke I take VERY seriously. {{:)>

> When I received 
> birthday greetings from the KLI, I replied briefly in rusty Klingon, 
> but a very busy Dr. Schoen answered back in English without 
> addressing my question.  My fears about the KLI were confirmed: 
> clearly no one, not even the director, spoke the language.  

This is less true now than it was for quite some time. Lawrence
was so busy with promoting the language that he was not finding
the time to learn to speak it. I think qep'a' cha'DIch was a
turning point for him, as it was for many of the 18
participants.

> However, 
> I wrote back to Dr. Schoen, and he encouraged me. I renewed my 
> efforts to learn Klingon.  And here I am. 

maj.

> *Robyn* 'oH pongwIj'e'.  <shining bright with fame> 'oS
> <Robyn> 'e' muja' paq vIghajbogh.  *wovwI'* tupong 'e' vItul.  
> tugh lut vIghItlhbogh SalI'.
> 
> I have two specific questions for the pabpo':
> 
> 1. In Hamlet [lut 'ay' wa', lut 'ay'Hom wa', nav vagh--why no 
> line numbers?] appears the line <vIHbe' je ghew.>  What does "je" 
> mean in this context?  I expected <vIHbe' neH ghew>. 

While I don't have my Hamlet with me, I read the {je} here as
being used adverbially. "The bug also does not move." Out of
context, I'd expect this to mean something like, "The bug makes
no sound and it also does not move," rather than, "The cow does
not move and the bug also does not move." The meaning is
attached to the verb and less so to the noun. Still, there is
enough ambiguity in the langauge for this to fit either context.

> 2. How do I pronounce doubled stop consonants in Klingon?  When I say 
> <juppu'> do I spit twice, spit once with added force, or pronounce as 
> if it were spelled <*jupu'>?  And worse, how do I tackle the double 
> glottal stop?  There are minimal pairs: <Duy'a'> ambassador and 
> <Duy''a'> major defect. I have been "bouncing" on the vowel sound, 
> echoing it after each stop, so that <ro''e'> sounds like 
> <*ro'o'e'> to distinguish it from <ro'e'>.

We have no guidelines from Okrand on this, so we are left to
our own devices. I handle it like I do in English, which is
that when speaking conversationally or quickly, I pronounce
double consonants just like I pronounce single consonants. If
I'm trying to enunciate clearly, I spit twice.

As for double glottal stops, I don't seem to have this problem
enunciating a very forceful glottal stop at the end of a
syllable without making a vowel sound afterward, so if I am
clearly enunciating a double glottal stop, I just tend to pause
a little longer between the two vowel sounds. I can feel the
difference in my throat and given the pace of overall speech, I
can hear the difference, as if the glottal stop were any other
consonant, even though the stop at the opening of a syllable is
not easy to hear, since English always has one before all
opening vowels, but I believe I can hear the difference if one
attempts to express a double glottal stop clearly.

charghwI'

> wovwI'
> Robyn Stewart                  NLK Consultants Inc. 
> NLK Technical Library          855 Homer Street
> [email protected]     Vancouver, BC V6B 5S2 *Canada* 
> 

charghwI'
-- 
reH lugh charghwI' net Sov.

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