tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun May 11 20:03:53 1997

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Re: Sajpu'



ja' qoror:
> 	Lots of you are wondering about my subject line.  You'll understand
>when
> you finish reading this.

[I was very intrigued by the subject.  I see what you mean, but I don't
think it's quite right -- even if pets understand language, they still
can't really *use* it.]

> 	To quote Dr. Schoen's editorial from the most recent issue of HolQeD,
> "Where do we go from here?"  To quote his answer, "We take Klingon to the
> people."  I've just thought about another angle of that that (I hope) hasn't
> been done before: training dogs (and maybe pigs too) to respond to Klingon
> commands.  Not as hard as some of the rest -- all you need is a trainer and a
> talk with him.

This is a terrific idea -- it could certainly get media exposure! :-)  I
can just see it: an appearance on The Tonight Show by a group of
Klingon-trained dogs (and their Klingon trainers).

> This is somewhat akin to very young kids being taught Klingon already.

Um....I don't think so.  Dogs can't use the words they're taught to tell
you anything, and can't go on to contribute to the language.  I sure
wouldn't go telling Alec Speers that his father is treating him like a pet.
;-)

ja' Joel Peter Anderson:
> I'd rather encourage others to volunteer in schools!  That is how I got to
> do a Klingon class at my daughter's school.  Schools are almost always
> eager to see adults with an interest offer classes - plus it is a good way
> to be involved in the school!  Believe me - if you teach a Klingon class,
> they WILL remember you!

I can attest to that, but there's no guarantee that their memory of you
will be a good one.  During the get-acquainted open house with my son's
second-grade teacher, we let her know that if he started talking about
having spent a week with Klingons over the summer, it wouldn't just be a
fantasy (he was at qep'a' wejDIch).  I explained that I spoke Klingon, and
she looked at me *very* strangely.  From what I can tell, she hasn't taken
me seriously since.  It's very frustrating to have a reputation as someone
weird...in North Central Indiana, the idea of speaking a language
associated with Star Trek apparently marks me as a person to be shunned, or
at least pitied. :-(  Some people who work with my brother-in-law saw one
of my qepHom flyers, and thought it was ridiculous.  (They asked him what
kind of pocket protector I recommended...)


-- ghunchu'wI'




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