tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue May 07 19:42:17 1996
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Re: Nice 2 meet U
- From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
- Subject: Re: Nice 2 meet U
- Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 21:45:13 -0500
Adrian Luca writes:
>Hi ! I'm Adrian and have just subscribed at this list.
Hi, Adrian, and welcome! I'm ghunchu'wI', the list's present Beginners'
Grammarian. You've undoubtedly seen my long introduction, so I'll spare
the list the tedium.
>I'm from Romania ( do you know where it lies ? ) and a great Star
>Trek fan. I was attracted by Klingons ever since I first heard
>about them ( a couple of years ago, I think ... ) but I had no
>means of getting in contact with other Klingons.
That's fine, though Star Trek fanaticism isn't required here. Remember,
this is the Klingon *Language* mailing list. We share a common interest
in the *language* of the Klingons. The fictional culture is important,
to be sure, but it is secondary to the *real* language.
>Now , I found something regarding the Language in the Internet,
>something called : " The Klingon Language " and , let's say I was
>impressed. But I still don't know how to build up a sentance and
>most important,I don't know WORDS !
I'd put the priorities the other way around. The fact that you don't
know the vocabulary is not a big problem; looking up the words is the
easy part. Putting together sentences using the right grammar is what
makes this a real language, and not just a code for English, or Navajo,
or whatever.
>Here in Romania the Klingon Dictionary is not to be found ( gh'Day't !! ).
[Ah, you've obviously had some Klinzhai influence. Just so you know,
the language we use here is not Klinzhai from John Ford's novels, but
tlhIngan Hol from Marc Okrand and Paramount's movies and TV shows.]
>So, couldn't there
>be a small dictionary somewher, so I can understand AT LEAST the
>mainline about the language ?
Well, there *are* several computerized translator programs "out there"
somewhere, but you probably won't get very far without a good description
of Klingon grammar. And the only legitimate place you will find that is
in The Klingon Dictionary. The Klingon Language Institute can sell you
a copy -- if you have access to the World Wide Web, point your browser at
http://www.kli.org/kli/merchant.html and order whatever you want.
>Thanks, folks ! ( by the way , how do you say Thank You ? )
The verb {tlho'} means "thank", and the verb prefix {qa-} means
"I [do something to] you." So "I thank you" is {qatlho'}.
-- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj