tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jun 21 15:23:40 2011

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Re: Certification Tests

Robyn Stewart ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol po'wI']

At 13:56 21/06/2011, you wrote:
>jIQochbe'. I haven't heard about hoards of people who have 
>repeatedly struggled to take the test and failed year after year.

I saw the volume of responses and suspected that they might all be 
like yours, as I fully understand how you feel. Certification is certification.

I don't for a moment want to dilute the demands of the certification 
tests. I just see a lot of people who are genuinely interested and 
trying to learn Klingon with no recognition to bridge the vast gulf 
between "Quaplah" and a bronze certification.

There aren't hordes of people learning Klingon at all. Perhaps my 
impression from observations at qep'a' is wrong, but I had the idea 
that most fail on the first attempt, and that many don't dare try.  I 
certainly wouldn't set any of my qepHomnganpu' at it, despite the 
fact that one is writing competent beginner stories and starting to converse.

>  You don't have to be an Olympic linguist to learn Klingon well 
> enough to pass the tests. You just have to want to bad enough to 
> actually learn the language as well as those who have already 
> passed these tests.

I think you also have to have a certain mental quirk. You know how 
you some people turn up at qep'a' the first time speaking Klingon and 
some come year after year and don't?  I really don't think it's just 
personal effort, much as we'd like to take credit for our innate abilities.

>Some passed it because of unusual talent. Some passed because of 
>exceptional diligence. Either can be applied successfully,

I'll cede that I haven't administered the tests and I don't know any 
statistics.  I just chat to beginners before and after them.

>and I'm among those who don't feel like going way out of our way to 
>reward the lack of both.
>
>There are other things besides certification for those who just want 
>to be part of the club. Like, well, joining the KLI. Be a part of 
>the club. Make your own dictionary, or now you can even buy one from 
>Ultralingua, for your Mac, PC or iPad. Buy the books -- TKD, KGT, or 
>the audio discs, PK and KCD. There's a lot of cool stuff for people 
>not interested in working hard enough to earn certification.

Maybe I'll just make up some cool things for our meetup group, 
targets to meet, lists to study, and make some training tests and 
local badges that could work them towards the real certification tests.

>Certification is supposed to mean something special. Others have 
>earned it. If you want it too, then earn it.

I don't want to mess with that either.


>pItlh.
>lojmIt tI'wI' nuv
>
>
>
>On Jun 21, 2011, at 4:34 PM, ghunchu'wI' 'utlh wrote:
>
> > On Tue, Jun 21, 2011 at 3:09 PM, Robyn Stewart 
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> Is there a blurb available about the certification tests or a source
> >> of study material that I could link to for my qepHomnganpu'?
> >>
> >
> > http://www.speers.nu/Holtej/klingon/klcp.htm describes the program and
> > links to information about what is on each level of testing. TKD 
> is the only
> > source for Level 1, with a specific list of vocabulary.
> >
> >
> >> Has anyone put any thought into creating some easier levels?  I
> >> understand requiring actual competence in the language for
> >> certification, but maybe something casual learners could
> >> achieve?
> >
> >
> > I understand wanting to recognize those who are trying, but I don't see the
> > point in awarding any sort of "certification" to someone just because they
> > have a casual interest in learning Klingon. If a tangible symbol of such
> > interest is desired, the KLI pin probably fits the need, and the {chu'wI'}
> > "newcomer" level is assigned by default.
> >
> >
> >> Looking at Earthlings and beginner experience, it seems
> >> like even bronze is a pretty stiff bar for some.
> >>
> >
> > I realize that merely urging someone to apply some effort to the task of
> > learning doesn't always work, but I feel that providing a lower 
> bar is not a
> > proper solution. While it increases the count of people who can claim to
> > speak Klingon, it is not compatible with a goal of growing the number of
> > people who DO speak Klingon.
> >
> > I don't accept that the problem is one of Klingon being too hard to learn.
> > It's just that effective opportunities to learn are sparse. Creating
> > a good successor to the Postal Course would probably be a better plan than
> > coming up with an easier test.
> >
> > -- ghunchu'wI'
> >
> >
> >

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