tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Jan 28 18:19:14 1996

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Reival's language

Here is the bit about dialectal Klingon in Reival's mission.

~ ~ ~
One of the even less thoroughbred sides to Reival's mind, one that would
likely be passed over by someone unfamiliar with Klingon politics, is the
tremendous background he had in dealing with Klingons who spoke an unofficial
dialect, reproachfully referred to as "tlhIngan HolHom" in the mainstream
Klingon media. Many aspects of Reival's mission, evident in his ship log and
even more so in his memoires, are reminiscent of a close bond with many of
these dialect speakers. Few Klingon scholars doubt that this emphasis of
dialectal influence in his memoires was intentional. From a literary
standpoint, this would represent another element of Reival's initial
delinquency, and hence, his "return to the ways of those whom honor guides"
would only grow in profundity in the eyes of his audience.

At least from a sociological standpoint it is interesting to take note of the
specific examples of the influence of a dialect on Reival's mission. His
ship, of which the Empire was justifiably deprived, was given the name nomdok
(somewhat akin to "Swyftbloode") partly in pride of its cunning
outmaneuvering of the Imperial Police, and partly to confuse them further if
they should go searching for it outside the Empire.

Aside from his obvious disinterest in observing honorable practices, Reival's
decision-making ability is also strongly marked by the methods and techniques
that signify the mind of a dialect speaker. Federation members usually
hesitate to discuss such a gap between members of different ethnicities, as
it would generally be regarded as racist. Klingons, on the other hand, have
no qualms in pointing out the discrepancies of reasoning in someone of a less
dominant language community, whether those discrepancies be better or worse
being an irrelevant issue.

Certainly, in the propogandization of Reival's expedition, he fully exploited
the influence of the dialectal mindset as one of the many challenges he was
obliged to overcome in the return to honorable ways.
~ ~ ~

Just wanted to add one little note. This attitude in literature seems to
parallel that of the accounts John Smith recorded in _The General History of
Virginia_. Perhaps Klingons do not perceive boastfulness as one of the
obstacle to overcome in the path to honor, or it is only seen as extreme
pride in oneself. Nevertheless, from an objective standpoint, _rIyval Hoq_
differs from Smith's _History of Virginia_ in that Reival's life journey is a
universal one which all Klingons must take in one form or another, though for
most it is only a journey of within, aided by induction into an lengthy
ancestry and centuries of tradition rather than pure personal experience with
the less honorable cultures of the universe.

The expository remarks in the story are completed. Next week's chapter begins
with Reival's first encounter with foreign cultures. Then it's all uphill
from there.

Guido

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