tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Nov 19 08:30:51 1998
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RE: KLBC: Pronunciation
: lab ra'yIn:
: > I have no problem making any of the sounds in Klingon, but I have
: > one small question regarding <tlh>. While I have heard it
: > pronounced correctly, and I can reproduce the sound accurately, I
: > have never *seen* it spoken by someone who really knows what they
: > are doing. Is it normal to "smile" when saying it? I can do it
: > with or without smiling, but the smile feels more natural and
: > sounds much clearer and more distinct. Is this correct? Does
: > Marc smile when pronouncing <tlh>?
:
: I don't necessarily *smile* when I pronounce a <tlh>, but I do have a
: tendency to pull my lips back a bit, so I see what you mean. I don't know
: what others do.
I'm sure Klingon would think of themselves more as "sneering" instead of
"smiling" -- not that there's a difference when you're speaking tlhIngan Hol,
but in English you do want to be careful to use *le mot juste*. Klingons can
be very touchy about such things! Keep in mind that Klingon warriors react
very differently to the insipid expression humans refer to as "smiling".
Okrand explains in TKW (p.167):
To a Klingon, a smile signals not only contentment, satisfaction,
and good humor, but also complacency, the feeling that all is well.
pIj monchugh vay' yIvoqQo'
Don't trust those who frequently smile.
Marc Okrand wrote on the old MSN BBS in response to a question as to whether
{mon} "smile, grin" could also be used for "growl":
This also means things like "snarl" and "smirk". I wouldn't be surprised
to find a Klingon {mon} and growl at the same time, but {mon} by itself
doesn't describe the full growling experience.
Also, Okrand added the gloss "sneer" to the entry on {mon} in KGT.
But back to ra'yIn's question: The Klingon /tlh/ is nearly identical to the
ubiquitous Welsh /ll/ -- that's double L -- though /tlh/ does seem to be
pronounced with a bit more force, which is true of many Klingon phonemes.
As it
turns out, I'm studying Welsh at the moment, so I'll ask my teacher tonight
for
her opinion; unfortunately, she's not a native speaker but she has studied
the
language in Wales.
: pagh
: Beginners' Grammarian
_________________________________________________________________________
Voragh "Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons lis est." Horace (Ars Poetica)