tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Mar 06 13:22:24 1998
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Re: English - thlIngan - german
With respect to the original post by Lothar, I think Qov's response was
eloquent and right on target. Specifically:
> I don't speak German. I would skip the German parts of the posts, but I
> don't want to see our small language community fragmented along national
> lines. I understand there may be an issue of character sets, for special and
> accented characters, but I am quite willing to read through a few יזחס
> funny l00king characters to hang onto our international tlhInganpu'.
and...
> The Klingon Language Institute attempts to be international, not an
> American institute, but as a Canadian who is a member of other US-based
> international organizations, I understand the desire for something not so
> dominated by American thought and American assumptions.
>
> I believe that you have more to lose by separating yourselves from the
> English-speaking Klingon speakers than you have to gain by having a
> separate German-based institute. By all means, unite German Klingon-speakers,
> but don't separate yourselves.
What I find most ironic about this discussion is that it is taking place
on the net, a medium which allows us to transcend (to a large extent)
geo-political boundaries. One of the greatest accomplishments of this
mailing list has been to bring non-Americans into the discussion of
tlhIngan Hol, giving us the benefit of other cultural and native
linguistic perspectives. And we have all benefitted from this.
The purpose of the KLI is not to control the language but to facilitate
its use among its speakers. I don't for a minute believe we can forever
prevent the language from changing, but we can slow the rate of such
change, and make sure that the majority of speakers are kept aware of
any such alterations so they can change with it and mutual
intelligibility remain high.
Nothing would make me happier than to see more Klingon speakers in other
nations. The KLI welcomes the assistance of members in countries outside
the USA who can act as its agents and promote the language, and over the
years we have had people doing just that, in Scotland, England, Brazil,
South Africa, Australia, and yes, even Germany. Promoting Klingon and
the KLI in other countries takes a lot of time and effort, and the
volunteers who do this for the KLI burn out quickly. New volunteers are
always welcome; just send me a note.
So, by all means, promote the use of Klingon throughout Germany, but
don't draw away or otherwise dilute the German input to this mailing
list. We are, and will for some time be, a very small linguistic
community; it is still time to build, not to scatter. If you would see
this community strengthened, then I encourage you to add your resources
and energies to what the KLI has already amassed in the past six years -
our membership, our collected experience, our formal relationships with
Paramount and Pocket Books, our personal relationships with Marc Okrand
himself and numerous Klingon-portraying actors. This mailing list itself
is a prime example. It existed before the creation of the KLI, and as
the KLI grew the list was given into our keeping. David Barron's postal
course is yet another example of the efforts of individuals donating
their work to the care of the KLI to further promote the language. And
where do I begin to acknowledge the thousands of hours of assistance
provided by the Grammarans on this list over the years?
So, enough time spent on the soapbox. People will do as people choose to
do. The position of the KLI is to promote the Klingon language, and we
certainly won't turn our backs to anyone who is doing so, whether as
part of the KLI or something distinct from it. The KLI is not about
competition, it's about comprehension and insight and scholarship.
qo'mey poSmoH Hol,
Lawrence
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:: Dr Lawrence M Schoen, Director :: The KLI is a nonprofit ::
:: The Klingon Language Institute :: tax exempt corporation ::
:: POB 634, Flourtown, PA 19031 USA :: DaH HuchlIj'e' ghonob ::
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