tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Mar 28 11:19:19 2001

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Re: KLBC: Patience makes perfect

lab ghunchu'wI'
>ja' pagh-le':
>>There are many things I do, such as drive my car and go to the store, that I
>>find difficult to express in Klingon since there does not seem to be a word
>>for "car" nor "store." I can't even figure out how to say "I go to the
>>library."
>
>Vehicle words regularly appear on the KLI's "wish list".
>
>Lacking an official term for referring to automobiles, many people are
>content to stretch {Duj} to apply.  Some will refer to a car as a {yav
>Duj}, or "ground ship".  

And as with any conversation, you have a better chance of knowing what's
going on if you know the people involved.  I'm often talking about a muD
Duj "atmospheric vessel" and I mean aeroplane.  

>While we generally try not to abuse the
>vocabulary, there are still unspoken conventions which have arisen among
>longtime members of the mailing list.  There is historical context for
>specific usage of various terms; as with any language, newcomers will
>simply have to deal with things like {Duj} for "car" as they are
>encountered.

This isn't an excuse for it, but the four hundredth time you read
jabbI'IDghom, you stop thinking "data transmission group" and just read it
as "mailing list."  The hypothetical actual Klingon would have as much
chance of understanding jabbI'IDghom the way I do, as the average AOL user
does of successfully unsubscribing to this list.  Normally "what does this
word mean?" questions are out of line here: you're supposed to own the
books, but "what are you talking about when you say
qep'a'/pojwI'/chu'wI'/nuQnaQ*?" might need to be asked.

*Respectively: our annual conference, a Klingon parsing program, a Klingon
language newbie, a mild version of the painstick as given to and named by
Marc Okrand at a convention.

Trying to describe your daily life with the vocabulary we have in Klingon,
is a bit like trying to describe a Klingon's daily life ith the vocabulary
you learned in Spanish class.  My suggestion of the month (and I'm going to
keep suggesting it until people do it, because it's for my own
entertainment) is that you pick a Star Trek episode, original series
episodes are best, and describe it in Klingon.  You know ...

yuQDaq jol HoD, Qel, yaS wa'DIch, Hung yaS je.  yIvbeH Doq tuQ Hung yaS.  

If you're just barely starting out, try writing sentences like:

The starship is big.
Space is black.
The stars are numerous.
The Vulcan is serious.
A crewman dies.
The yeoman screams.
The captain watches the viewscreen.
Aliens attack the ship.
The doctor discovers a weird disease.
The doctor cures everyone.
The aliens refuse to sign a peace treaty.

Using beginner sentences alone, you can recognizably describe a whole
episode.  It *IS* harder to describe things we don't have words for.  So
don't start with that.  You will enjoy more success if you start with an
easier task.

wa':
Qol HoD, Qel, yaS wa'DIch, wej Hung yaSpu' je.  tam veng.  jot nganpu'.
pay' maw'choH nganpu'.  yupma'!  yupma' jach.  HIvchuq, qachmey meQmoH.
juHDaq So''egh Saqghom. nganpu' SeHchu' De'wI'.  *Landru* 'oH De'wI'
pong'e'.   chay' ghu' choHmoH HoD?

cha':
loghDaq Duj tIQ tu' 'ejDo'.  jol HoD Saqghom je.  yIntaghDaq Qong ghotpu'.
wa' vengmoH Qel.  be' pon loD tIQ 'ej latlhpu' vemmoH.  'ejDo' chargh.
nuqDaq lotlhwI'pu' lon HoD?







Qov

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