tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jun 02 13:17:36 1998
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Re: What's in a Name (was: Beginner's questions)
According to [email protected]:
>
> In a message dated 98-06-01 14:35:37 EDT, Voragh writes:
>
> << Your name is, of course, _your_ name but you might consider spelling it
> {QonaH}, or even {Qo'naH} if the stress falls on the first syllable.
> Capital /Q/ is usually, though not always, rendered in English as "kr": >>
>
> I didn't realize the list of names using Q or Qo to make the "kr" sound was
> so extensive. I was aware of some of your examples when I was choosing the
> name, but I also thought I saw a word that had "qr" in it (somewhere in the
> middle of the word). Of course, now when I try to use it as an example, I
> can't find it.
It can occur in the middle of a name because the {q} can be the
end of one syllable while the {r} can be the beginning of the
next syllable. The thing you have not caught onto yet is that
Klingon does not have syllables beginning with consonant
clusters. The only consonant clusters occuring within the
bounds of a syllable come at the END of a syllable, and those
are limited to {rgh}, {w'} (with a couple limits) and {y'}.
So, basically, if you are speaking the Empiror's Klingon, you
can't start a syllable with {qr}.
English LOVES consonant clusters. Just listen to people
mispronounce {Qapla'}. English speakers generally pronounce it
"ka-pla" when the real syllable boundary is {Qap-la'}. When you
get used to hearing the language, "ka-pla" REALLY grates on
your nerves. It reminds me of a friend who once said, "Don't
put the em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble." It would be like
someone trying to speak English uttering the word: Am-er-ic-a
instead of A-mer-i-ca.
> I really was trying to avoid a name that was pronounced so differently from
> tlhIngan Hol to DIvI' Hol. The Qo sound for "kr" strikes as me as a bit of a
> stretch.
Well, consider that maybe first contact with Klingons was made
by someone who spoke French. Their "r" sounds closer to the {H}
sound, and {Q} really is very close to {qH}.
> If you went up to someone unfamiliar with tlhIngan Hol and, in your
> best tlhIngan, pronounced Qo'nos and then asked them to spell what you just
> said, I don't think Kronos is what they would come up with.
Think French.
> One could always
> say that the first terrans misprounced the name of the Qo'nos and that the
> incorrect pronounciation stuck before it could be corrected. As for other
> names, I can't imagine Klingons adding the "r" sound into their names just so
> its easier for terrans to speak it.
Well, the problem may be one of lack of imagination.
> The thought of someone like Qugh adding
> the "r" into his name to make it easier for tera'nganpu' to pronounce strikes
> me as funny.
To quote Worf in the first episode of TNG: "I don't understand
their humor, either."
> Now having said all that, I am not attached enough to the name that I would be
> willing to commit any serious grammatical errors just to keep it. As a matter
> of fact my second choice of names is beginning to appeal to me more and more
> and I may switch. The Battle of Kursk (Germans vs Russians in WW II) was the
> largest tank battle in history, maybe the largest battle of any kind in
> history. Everything about the battle was massive, violent, desperate, chaotic
> ect. The soldiers, on both sides, fought beyond the limits of endurance on
> nothing but guts, pride, honor and duty.
>
> Anyway, I was thinking of naming myself after the battle. Would you have some
> suggestions on how to convert this name into tlhIngan Hol? Maybe qurs'H or
> Qursq?
Likely it would be qerSeq. There's no way you can pack {rSq}
together without an intervening vowel, and while we spell
"Kursk" with a "u", realize that the Klingon {u} is always
pronounced "oo" as in "goose", and not like the "u" in
"turkey". That sound is closer to the Klingon {er}, though it
is not really all that close. It's just closer than any other
vowel I can think of.
> Thanks for the help,
>
> qronaH (for now anyway)
charghwI'