tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 16 14:00:08 1997

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Re: Learning suggestions

lawsonse26 wrote: 

> vIghojchoHlI'.
"I am beginning to learn it."

maj.  If you wanted to say simply "I am beginning to learn" the no 
object prefix {jI-} should be used instead of {vI-}.  Realize also 
that the suffix {-lI'} indicates that you are really in the throes of 
starting, and that eventually you will stop starting and change to 
having already started.  This as you can see from my confused 
mutterings is a distinction pretty hard to render in English.  
{vIghojchoH} could also be translated as "I am starting to learn it" 
without the implication of a defined starting process.  Nothing wrong 
with your sentence, I just want to be sure you know all its 
implications.

>  jIHvaD boghaj chupmey?

Read the begiining of chapter six where it talks about 
Object-Verb-Subject (OVS) sentence order.  OVS is the 
same no matter if the sentence is a question or not.  (It sometimes 
changes for toasts, but that's a strange irregularity.) To say 
"do you have X" in Klingon you say {X boghaj'a'}.  The Klingon word 
{chup} means "recommend," not, as far as I remember, 
"recommendation," so the English sentence "do you have suggestions 
for me?" has to be said slightly differntly in Klingon.  Instead of 
using the verb {ghaj} "have,"  I suggest:

jIHvaD vay' bochupqang'a'?
"Will you suggest something for me?"

or the Klingon direct:

jIHvaD vay' yIchup!
"suggest something for me!"

> And was that sentance right in the first place?

It had a couple of learning opportunities in it, but it was a good 
sentence.

You seem to be doing pretty well on your own; you've 
obviously realized the importance grammar section.  Pick one section 
of the grammar, read it over several times, try to think of all the 
implications and any questions it raises, then write some sentences 
that use what it tells you and post them here.  Choose five or ten 
words per day that seem useful to you and memorize them.  Also 
memorize the prefixes and suffixes so that you can recognize them 
quickly when reading or listening.  Flashcards help, as does ter'eS' 
KLIFLASH DOS program. (When do we get the KGT upgrade, ter'eS?)

Another technique is to take a Klingon proverb or a phrase from the 
appendix of TKD (e.g. "This helmet suits you") and analyse it.  Why 
is each syllable where it is?  Why are the words in that order? Is 
there anything unexpected about the sentence?  What else can you say 
with the same grammar?  How would you say "this helmet suits me" or 
"that tribble makes us angry"?

Post some more examples of your work and keep trying to understand 
other people's postings.

I posted a fairly long piece on "how to study Klingon" a few months 
ago.  Is there anyone on the list who tried some of the methods who 
can comment on what worked well for them?

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