tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 09 10:20:05 1996

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Re: gh v. rgh

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>Date: Wed, 8 May 1996 21:35:25 -0700
>From: Jeremy Cowan <[email protected]>

>On Sun, 5 May 1996, Ford Prefect wrote:
>> I am having a great difficulty distinguishing my pronounced 'gh' from 
>> my pronounced 'rgh'!

>I can't make any promises that I'm pronouncing it the best way, but I'll 
>tell you what I've noticed in my pronunciation.

>Syllable final "r" seems to make a small change in the way I pronounce 
>the preceding vowel.  The difference in my pronunciation of "gh" and 
>"rgh" is almost wholly due to the same changes in the vowel sound.  For 
>instance, take the words "Hugh" and "Hurgh".  I pronounce the "u" in the 
>first as in the English word "Who".  I pronounce the "u(r)" in the second 
>word closer to the vowel sound in the English word "her".

You're letting English prejudices run away with you.  "Hurgh" should NOT
have the vowel sound like in "her".  Not the way I pronounce "her" anyway.
Just because there's an r after it, the u doesn't become any less a u.  The
sound in "Hurgh" should be the same as in English "tour".  "chergh" should
have the sound like in Eng. "fair" only nor quite as open (while "chegh"
should have what's in English "bed").  "nargh" should have the sound of
English "are" (nagh like English "ah"), "ghorgh" like English "four"
(ghogh like "boat"), and "chIrgh" like in "beard".  Note that these English
pronunciations presume a rhotic accent (e.g. N.E. American), where the r's
are NOT dropped.  If your "four" rhymes with "flaw", you're not getting
it.

Note that this appears to be an example of Okrand's glossing over some
details.  He says that "r" is supposed to be trilled, but if you listen to
his examples, when it's before gh, it becomes a normal American-style back
r.  We cope.  They're probably allophones or something.

Be careful with letting English spelling dictate sounds. You pronounced
"Hurgh" like "her"+gh because English words with -ur- tend to have that
vowel (fur, burr, etc).  But that's NOT Klingon.  There is no evidence that
vowels are dropped in the face of r.  The u must remain a u, like in tour,
boor, or sure.  Just like "law'" in Klingon doesn't rhyme with "law" in
English. :)

~mark

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