tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jul 10 06:24:37 1997

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Re: New to list - please help

[email protected] on behalf of The_krow wrote:
> NuqneH qeq pongwIj jIwa'maH chorgh DIS tera'ngan Kanada jIDaq De'wI' 
jIparHa'
> bIH jItI'  
> 
> What do you want? My name is qeq I am 18 terran years old. I live in Canada.
> I love computers. I  fix them.

Hello!  I'm SuStel, the list's Beginners' Grammarian.  My job here is to get 
you started on learning Klingon.  If you've got a question, or would just like 
to talk to others at a beginner level, put "KLBC" at the beginning of the 
subject line of the post.  This will signal me to pay special attention to the 
post, it'll signal other beginners that this post contains easier-to-read 
stuff, and it also means that the BG is the first one allowed to respond to 
and correct your grammar (so that you don't get half a dozen different and 
conflicting replies all at once).

Two important web sites for you to visit, if you haven't already:

The Klingon Language Institute
http://www.kli.org

this list's FAQ
http://www.thomtech.com/~dspeers/klingon/faq.htm

And now, let's take a look at what you wrote.

> NuqneH

When writing with our standard transcription in Klingon, never capitalize the 
first letter of a word.  In come cases a capital letter is an entirely 
different sound than the lower-case letter.  For example, {qeq} means 
"practice," but {Qeq} means "aim."

> qeq pongwIj

You need a verb.  (Who knows?  This might work as Clipped Klingon.)  There are 
two ways to do this:

*qeq* 'oH pongwIj'e'
My name is qeq.

jIHvaD *qeq* yIpong
Call me qeq.

Notice that I put asterisks around {qeq} in each sentence.  I did this to show 
that it's a name.  When you are using a name in Klingon writing, we need a way 
to distinguish it from other words.  Otherwise, for example, someone may see 
your name, look up {qeq}, and try to translate "practice name."

For an example of "to be" constructions like the first of these two sentences, 
see TKD 6.3.

> jIwa'maH chorgh DIS tera'ngan

Verb prefixes only go on verbs.  Nowhere else.  To say how old you are, you 
tell us how many years ago you were born.

wa'maH chorgh ben jIbogh
I was born 18 years ago.

Note that if you *were* talking about "Terran years," it would be {tera' DIS}, 
not {DIS tera'} or {DIS tera'ngan}.  {tera'} and {tera'ngan} are nouns, not 
adjectival verbs, and so they come first.  Similarly, if you were talking 
about a "Klingon ship," you'd say {tlhIngan Duj}, not {Duj tlhIngan}.

> Kanada jIDaq

Please use standard English punctuation.  When speaking you use pauses etc., 
but in writing, you can't hear that.  Since this writing system isn't one 
Klingons use anyway, there's no harm in adding in punctuation.  (Besides, 
Okrand does it, too.)

Again, {jI-} can only go on a verb.  In the case of saying "I am in Canada," 
you need to use the "to be" construction again.  You'll also need the Type 5 
noun suffix {-Daq} "locative."  This suffix will go on the NOUN, not the verb 
or the pronoun.

*Canada*Daq jIHtaH.
I am in Canada.

> De'wI' jIparHa'

Good!  The only problem here is that you have chosen the wrong suffix.  When 
you're saying "I like computers," "computers" is a third-person, plural object 
of the sentence.  This is "them."  Use the chart on TKD page 33.  
Cross-reference "I" subject with "them" object.  You find {vI-}.

De'wI' vIparHa'
I like computers.

> bIH jItI'

Same thing here.

bIH vItI'.

> tihIngan Hol jISovQo' toH 'oH jIneH ghoj 'oH QaH ghojegh
> 
> I don't know Klingon language well. I want to learn it. Help me learn it.

{tlh} is one sound.  It's easy to mistype it.

In "I don't know the Klingon language well, you don't want to use {-Qo'}.  In 
a statement, {-Qo'} means "refuse."  If you refuse to learn Klingon, then why 
are you here?  :)

I'm going to make use of the Type 6 verb suffix {-chu'} "perfectly, exactly."

tlhIngan Hol vISovchu'be'
I imperfectly know Klingon.

For "I want to learn it," we need to use the special construction for {neH}.  
See TKD 6.2.5.

'oH vIghoj vIneH
I want to learn it.

(Literally, it's "I want I learn it.")

> 'oH QaH ghojegh

I'm not sure how this was meant to be "Help me learn it."  {jegh} means 
"surrender."

For a Sentence As Object (also in TKD 6.2.5), you first state what you want 
done, then you use that sentence as the object of another sentence.

'oH vIghoj
I learn it.

jIHvaD 'e' yIQaH
Help me to do that.

'oH vIghoj jIHvaD 'e' yIQaH
Help me to learn it.

This is a pretty complicated one.

Welcome!  batlh tlhIngan Hol DaghojchoH.

-- 
SuStel                                       -- qoH vuvbe' SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97523.7

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