tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Nov 19 19:21:17 2000
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Re: Klingon Grammar Instruction Book
ja' valwI'na':
>...I've taken foreign languages,
>and I hate how the books always try to convey as quickly as possible a
>rudimentary conversational ability.
That approach can be extremely appropriate when there's a real benefit in
having such ability, and when there's occasion to be "immersed" in the
language. Unfortunately, the collection of skilled Klingon speakers is
small enough and scattered enough to make such occasions exceedingly rare.
>I prefer TKD in that it's categorized into nouns, verbs, syntax, etc.
Most languages don't lend themselves to the prescriptive approach that we
see in TKD. Marc Okrand had the "luxury" of inventing tlhIngan Hol, so he
could present The Rules without much fear of being contradicted. :-)
>I already know how to synthesize words into
>sentences and create original ideas -- I just need the skinny on how to do
>that
>with Klingon. I would rather read a chapter on all the noun inflections
>than a
>chapter on "The Weather" or "Going Shopping."
That's fine, as long as you keep in mind that you'd probably get a lot more
out of writing about stuff like the weather or going shopping than from
reading all about Type 2 verb suffixes. :-)
>It seems that in a classroom
>setting we could make each chapter a lesson and assign homework that helps
>assimilate the vocab.
Try the Postal Course: /study/postcourse.html
>Does anyone agree? Or did you have a different idea for the book.
I see a use for two complementary tracks. One is something like a highly
expanded version of TKD, with "side comments" when advanced topics are
glossed over for later explanation. The other is a collection of simple
sentences and dialogues using gradually more advanced grammar and
vocabulary, more or less synchronized with the instructional text.
>Too bad universities won't accept Klingon for the language requirement in
>degrees. :-)
It *has* apparently been an acceptable thesis topic.
-- ghunchu'wI' 'utlh