tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jun 25 00:41:35 2003
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Pronunciation
- From: Klingon Warrior <[email protected]>
- Subject: Pronunciation
- Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 22:35:52 -0700 (PDT)
NOTE: Knowing how defensive some of us get about the Honorable Language and certain things said on this list, please note that this post is to do no more than merely state a common problem and to listen to possible solutions to that problem as well as arguments (both for and against) written in response to this post.
Is it just me or is pronouncing Klingon difficult? Not because of the foreign sounds or weird syntax, but because there is no consistency with any of the pronunciation guides. I find that too many programs out there have flashcard and pronunciation keys that vary on how to pronounce Klingon. One program may say to pronounce a certain letter this way, some CD Rom game says differently, and a book contradicts both. And of course the actors are no help :) Does anyone else have this problem? As much as I adore Okrand and what he's done, I find that listening to his tapes or to him on StarTrek: Klingon confuses me even more. He says a letter is propronounced a certain way, but when he does it in the middle of a sentence or word, it's never the same sound. I find that too often I am changing, yet again, how I pronounce letters because I think that I "finally got it." Now granted, most letters and most of the language is standard and not hard to comprehend, but letters like: gh,
H, Q give me concerns. Those, with me, change the most frequently. In fact, I try reading the Dictionary over and over again, but I don't think Okrand dictates how to pronounce letters very well. How do I know what his "non-vibrating throat" sounds in comparison to mine. And that's part of the problem. When going to conventions and taking the "Klingon 101" seminars, the guys had NO clue how to pronounce Klingon! They would pronounce the letter j as if it were French! And I know that's not the way it is..."jar," "jug," "jump" not "Jean-Luc." So, do you Warriors have the same problem, or have you dictated enough classes that you know the language pretty well? I once read an Internet column about the language...can't remember who they quoted but it said that Klingon is more of a written language than it is spoken. I think that this could be due to the confusion in pronunciation as well as the lack of numbers we have in speaking Klingon.
Klingon Warrior
taHjaj wo'!
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