tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Aug 06 10:42:44 1999
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Vowels
- From: "William H. Martin" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Vowels
- Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 13:42:29 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
- In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
- Priority: NORMAL
On Fri, 6 Aug 1999 10:54:41 -0400 "C.J. Miller"
<[email protected]> wrote:
> In Elvish/Klingon are the vowels? What exactly constitutes a vowel?
> If you were to create a new language could you make the vowels
> different?
In any language, what is called a vowel is, to a certain extent,
arbitrary. For the most part, in Klingon, a vowel is a voiced,
open sound used for the dual functions of being recognized
themselves and are used to connect consonnants. The only
syllable in the language that begins with a vowel is {-oy} and
that is simply because it depends upon the closing consonant of
the previous syllable. In the rare case of a previous syllable
ending in a vowel, a glottal stop is inserted to prevent a
diphthong from occurring, since Klingon does not allow
diphthongs.
Consonants always begin and usually end syllables in Klingon.
There are a very few allowed exceptional cases where a single
syllable can end in two consonants:
r-gh as in {chargh}
w' as in {law'}
y' as in {toy'}
That second pair {-w'} is limited to never allow {-ow'} or {uw'}
since this would not be sufficiently distinguisable from {-o'}
and {-u'}.
Otherwise, consonants only meet one another at the union points
of pairs of syllables.
This is far more regular than in most languages. The only single
exception to these rules so far is the transliteration of the
name "John Luc Picard", which comes out {jan luq pIqarD}.
Apparently, Klingons consider him to be significant enough to be
worthy of care in accurately pronouncing his name.
> C.J. Miller
charghwI' 'utlh