Re: Kapla vs. Qapla

[Alan Anderson <aranders@netusa1.net>]

ja' YRSpartan@aol.com:
>I am new to the list and will purchase my Klingon Dictionary but for now my
>question is which of Kapla or Qapla is the correct spelling of the word.

Neither is correct.  The word has six letters:

Q -- pronounced a little like coughing up a bit of food
a -- a normal "ah" sound, as in "father"
p -- a "p" with a bit of an extra "pop" or puff of air
l -- a standard "l" as in "look"
a -- the same "ah" as before
' -- a "glottal stop", the sound represented by "-" in "uh-oh"

Qapla'

>Most
>sites use the former and yet I don't see a K in the Klingon Langauge.

Since both {q} and {Q} are unfamiliar sounds to most people who speak only
English, they both tend to be mispronounced as "k".  Sometimes {Q} ends up
sounding like "kr" or "ks" to some people.

>Also, what is the correct definition of the word.

The definition is "success".  It seems to have become a common thing to say
in situations where English might use "good luck".

-- ghunchu'wI'