tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Mar 25 20:22:59 1999
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Re: Poetry (was Re: bogh veng noy'Ighrov)
>> What is it about the Klingon language that compels people to try to
>> write epic poetry in it?
>
>The pure challenge, Alan, the pure challenge.
DaqaDlu' DaneHchugh, Hol yIlo'chu' neH. Dalo'chu'ta'DI', bom DaqonlaH.
HollIj wa'DIch Dalo'taHvIS chaq gha'tlhIq Daqonchugh yap DuqaDbogh Qu'.
law'bej qaDmey lutu'lu'bogh. Hoch 'ebmey tIjon -- 'ach Hopqu'taHchugh
DoSlIj, chaq 'ebqoq 'oH neH. HoS lI' yIlo'Ha'Qo'.
If it's challenge you seek, you will find plenty in simply learning how
to use the Klingon language in order to communicate clearly and easily.
You might also find the task of writing epic poetry in English to be as
challenging an endeavor as you could want. The Klingon admonition to
"capture all opportunities" is fine, but sometimes a target is so far
away that it ceases to be an opportunity and is merely a distraction.
Don't let yourself get distracted.
tlhIngan bom DaqonchoHpa', bom motlh Daqel. bIqontaHvIS, ngeD'a' Qu'?
SoHvaD ngeDchu'chugh qonwI' mIw, chaq tugh tlhIngan bom DaqonlaHqu'.
ghe'naQ qonrupDI' po'chu'be'wI' HollIj lo'Ha'taHvIS, ghu' Dalajqang'a'?
Before you jump at the challenge of writing poetry in Klingon, consider
the kind of effort it takes for you to write poetry using a language in
which you are fluent. What if the situation were reversed? Imagine an
East Asian student of English, who is just barely capable of making his
meaning understood to a native English speaker, after much effort and a
lot of coaching. If he decided that it was appropriate to practice his
language skills by composing an epic poem, I think you'd have a similar
reaction to the situation as we do to your proposal.
lutna' qonpa' vay', yajnISlaHba' latlh. Hol lo'Ha'taHchugh vay', chay'
yajlu'? Hol lo'Ha'be'bej bom. Hol lo'chu'qu' bomna' -- 'ej juSqu'.
Composing serious fiction should come *after* conversational fluency, a
fact which somehow manages to escape the notice of a great many people.
Poetry is something that should go beyond everyday language, It should
not be an excuse for *avoiding* everyday language.
>Well, I pulled that word order from the novel _Day_of_Honor_. The book
>maynot be considered canon, but what phraes there were *seemed* acurate.
qarlaw' mu'tlheghHomqoqvetlh 'e' DaHarchugh, bIqImchu'be'. pab bIvba'.
nom bIHaDchu'ta'chugh, pab lugh DaghovchoHbej. QIt bIHaDchugh, yapDI'
poH, pab lugh DaghovchoH. wej yaplaw'pu' bIHaDmeH poH.
If you think {Suv batlh} "seemed accurate", you aren't paying attention
closely enough to the language's grammar or vocabulary. After a while,
through either concentrated effort or more slow exposure, you will come
to recognize the difference between "seems to be accurate enough to get
across the basic idea" and "clearly expresses what I mean".
Holna' 'oHbej tlhIngan Hol'e'. ngoDvetlh DaSovbe'law'. HImujmoH.
I find myself suspecting that you don't truly recognize that Klingon is
actually a real language. You can prove me wrong by using it like one.
--
Alan Anderson, professional programmer and amateur Klingonist
proud member of the Klingon Language Institute since 1995
qo'mey poSmoH Hol -- language opens worlds -- /