Re: DuSaQ'a'; qepHommey

["William H. Martin" <whm2m@virginia.edu>]

On Tue, 28 Dec 1999 12:58:41 +0000 (GMT) Mark A Miles 
<nine9@ukshells.co.uk> wrote:

> jatlh QuljIb:
> > *New Paltz* DuSaQ'a'Daq jIHaDlI'.  HolQeD 'oH He'a'wIj.  nuq 'oH
> He'a'lIj?
> 
> *Danish* Hol 'oH He'a'wIj. *Scandinavian*pu' vIHaD.

rut *Scandanavian* be'pu' vIHaD. Does that count?
 
> ja' qIroS:
> > wej ben *newcastle*Daq qepHom vIchenmoH
> > 
> > latlh qepHom vIchenmoH 'e' DuH
> 
> qepHom vIghoSmeH 'e' chongbe' HolwIj
> (My Klingon is not good enough for going to a qepHom [is this right?])
 
You didn't mark this as KLBC, so I'll step in. First, I'll 
describe what you could notice about it to know what isn't 
working. The pronoun {'e'} acts as a direct object to a verb 
following it and it represents the GRAMMATICALLY COMPLETE 
SENTENCE preceeding it. Now, look at {qepHom vIghoSmeH}. Is that 
a complete sentence? No. It is a dependent clause. It needs to 
attach itself to a main verb. The pronoun {'e'} doesn't work 
here.

I'll also point out that {qIroS} also has made fairly 
controversial use of {'e'} since {DuH} is not really a verb that 
can take a direct object. You don't "be possible" something. 
Just because we use the word "that" in English doesn't mean you 
can replace it with {'e'} in Klingon. qIroS likely should have 
said: {latlh qepHom vIchenmoHlaH.} To say, "It is possible that 
I can cause a qepHom to take form" is a vague, wittering, 
passive voice kind of expression of saying "I can cause a qepHom 
to form". "It is possible," is very vague. "I can" is much more 
explicit, direct and, well, Klingon.

As for your statement, it is a little messy because even if you 
drop the {'e'}, you are implying that your language is 
purposefully being not excellent in order to create progress in 
your quest to travel along the path to a qepHom. It is probably 
better to break this down into a couple sentences. qepHomDaq 
jIjeSmeH chongnISlaw' laHwIj. wej chong. jIloSlI'.

That is closer to what you actually mean. Meanwhile, it is very 
inaccurate. I'll relate this to qep'a', another event where some 
beginners don't attend because they think they need to be very 
skilled with the language before they attend:

~mark explained to me that at the Klingon camp that happened the 
year before the first qep'a', only Krankor could speak Klingon to
a degree that would have been considered conversational if he had
actually had anyone to converse with. ~mark mostly gawked at 
Krankor's skill with fascination. He was sufficiently inspired to
show up a year later at qep'a' wa'DIch having built enough skill 
with the language such that, he, too, was conversational. The 
rest of us mostly gawked at their skill with fascination. Several
of us were sufficiently inspired to show up at qep'a' cha'DIch 
beginning to be able to speak the language and the community has 
grown ever since. Each year, over half of the people at qep'a' 
struggle to put together a few words in something like a 
sentence every now and then with much encouragement from others. 
Every joke is celebrated. Experts patiently help beginners 
(because it really is fun to see people "get it") and beginners 
work together to improve their skills.

qep'a' has a lot of social activity and silly fun in addition to 
the honest hard work on the language. For those who have 
achieved conversational skills, it is a time to celebrate a rare 
opportunity to use the language.

Then you get to enjoy the Klingon Cabaret where Krankor might be 
coaxed to sing "Stairway to Gilligan's Island" one more time. We 
all sing {taHjaj wo'} whenever the opportunity arises (and it 
often does). And there are those magical performances, like 
~mark and Krankor doing their Klingon version of "Who's on 
First?" which was STUNNING. I really hope they'll do a reprise 
performance some year. I proudly participated in Earth's first 
performance by a Klingon barbershop quartet led by Krankor.

If nothing else, qep'a' is an opportunity for you to meet 
Krankor and enjoy his twisted genius.

I also really enjoyed playing in my own adaptation of Monty 
Python's "Bring Out Yer Dead" restored to the Original Klingon.

And then there was SuStel's amazing equivalent to "There Was an 
Old Lady Who Swallowed a Spider, Who Wiggled and Jiggled and 
Tiggled Inside Her". Of course, the swallowed creatures were all 
Klingon, but he did it in rhyme and meter at a pace that breaks 
all barriers as a tongue twister. It brought down the house.

And there was David Barron's theatrical portrayal of a joke 
about a Klingon, a Romulan, a Ferengi and a fly.

Or r'Hul's impressive performance (In English) of "Weapons Are a 
Girl's Best Friend". Suitably attired.

And all those games of poQ'ar, which bears a remarkable 
resemblance to poker. Careful. Krankor will walk away with your 
money. A penny here. A nickel there. He walks down the hall 
sounding even more armored than he is, as he is burdened by the 
weight of years of your accumulated pocket change.

Soft drinks and pizza. Greasepaint and latex. Cleavage. mu'qaD 
veS in the swimming pool. Polite waitresses pretending that this 
happens to them every day, as they work through an interpretor 
to figure out what Qov and Krankor want to eat, since neither of 
them will speak any English on such an outing. I still remember 
Qov discussing the menu with peHruS in Klingon and then having 
peHruS order the meal in Chinese. That was the same night that 
Pam, who speaks no Klingon, drove while Qov, refusing to speak 
anything BUT Klingon, had the map. peHruS translated both ways 
while I cowered in a corner, praying that we'd get to the dance 
in one piece, and REALLY hoping that we didn't get pulled for 
some minor traffic violation and then get interaction between 
Qov and the police.

In short, there are few opportunities for a better vacation. 
It's not just a trip to Philadelphia. IT'S AN ADVENTURE!

Plan on being there. You don't have to have great skill with the 
language. You just have to have an open mind. Make yourself 
available for a fascinating experience that will definitely 
accellerate your interest in the language (or extinguish it 
entirely -- Nobody has seen yoDtargh, a former BG, since his 
appearance at a qep'a' several years ago).

I miss yoDtargh. I miss Magic.

I could be wrong, but I think that Krankor, ~mark, Lawrence and 
I are the only people who have been to ALL of the qep'a' so 
far. Holtej has been to most of them as has SuStel. I can tell 
you that I definitely intend to be there again and heavily 
encourage you to start making plans now to be there. It will 
change your life.

And a qepHom or two could at least nudge it some.

> jenwI'
> *mutta'* tuq
> jenwi@nine9.ukshells.co.uk
> http://www.nine9.ukshells.co.uk

charghwI'