Archive-name: klingon-language-faq
Last-modified: Tue Jan 11 09:43:03 EST 1994
Frequency: monthly (more frequently when unstabilized by additions)
Informational Posting on the Klingon Language
alt.startrek.klingon
This document attempts to store information on resources for the
Klingon Language. Any additions/corrections may be e-mailed
to baruch@nynexst.com (Robert Baruch).
All prices mentioned herein are as up-to-date as possible. All
trademarks are the trademarks of their respective legal entities. All
copyrights are copyright their respective legal entities.
jabbI'IDvam DamughlaHchugh vIchel
Qapla'
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Contents / Dochmeyvam ngaS Dochvam
1. So you want to speak Klingon.
vaj tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh 'e' DaneH
2. The Klingon Dictionary.
tlhIngan Hol mu'ghom
3. Klingon Language tapes.
tlhIngan Hol qawHaq
4. The Klingon Language Institute.
tlhIngan Hol yejHaD
5. The Klingon Language Postal Course.
tlhIngan Hol navHIjghach SoQ
6. Other Klingon Language Institute sponsored projects.
tlhIngan Hol yejHaD numlu'ta'bogh jInmolmey pIm
7. Klingon Language mailing lists.
tlhIngan Hol HablI'mey
8. The Klingon writing system.
pIqaD
9. Klingon language translation programs
tlhIngan Hol mughwI'mey
10. How to handle disparaging or obviously non-Klingon related posts
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1. So you want to speak Klingon.
vaj tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh 'e' DaneH
All those neat harsh-sounding words, saliva flying everywhere,
and no words for "please" or "thank you". You knew you just
*had* to learn this language, if only to weird out your friends.
You need to get a hold of some serious resources. This document
will tell you all about those resources. Plan on spending some
money. And getting a large supply of napkins.
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2. The Klingon Dictionary.
tlhIngan Hol mu'ghom
This is the first reference any student of the Klingon Language
should purchase. Half of it is a Klingon-English / English-Klingon
dictionary containing approximately 1850 words. The other half
is an explanation of Klingon grammar.
Make sure you get the 1992 version. This version contains an
addendum.
Purchasing information follows:
Title: The Klingon Dictionary
Author: Marc Okrand
Publisher: Pocket Books / Simon & Schuster Inc.
Year of Publication: 1992
ISBN: 0-671-74559-X
Price: US $10
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3. Klingon Language tapes.
tlhIngan Hol qawHaq
Yes, S&S realized the financial potential of all those
weird Trekkies. Instead of saying, "Get a life!" they said, "Get
a tape!" And so we now have two fine cassette tapes, "Conversational
Klingon" and "Power Klingon".
"Conversational Klingon" is a humorous, extremely condensed form
of The Klingon Dictionary. Nevertheless, given that you get to actually
hear Marc Okrand, the inventor of the Klingon language, get a sore
throat over his Klingon consonants, and given that Michael Dorn, who plays
Worf on Star Trek: The Next Generation, narrates, this is one tape
not to be missed.
"Power Klingon" is the successor to "Conversational Klingon".
While CK taught the basics of the language, "Power Klingon" moves
ahead to provide you with rich details of Klingon cultural events
and rituals. My favorite part was the one about mating rituals --
Hey! Slow down! It'll still be there when you get there!
Purchasing information follows:
Title: Conversational Klingon
Author: Marc Okrand
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Inc.
Year of Publication: 1992
Tape Nr: 79739-5
Price: US $12
Title: Power Klingon
Author: Marc Okrand and Barry Levine
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Inc.
Year of Publication: 1993
Tape Nr: 87975-8
Price: US $12
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4. The Klingon Language Institute
tlhIngan Hol yejHaD
Rather than describing the KLI myself, I'll let this excerpt from
the introductory letter of the KLI do the job:
Now in its second year of operation, the Klingon Language
Institute continues its mission of bringing together individuals
interested in the study of Klingon linguistics and culture, and
providing a forum for discussion and the exchange of ideas. Our
membership is diverse, including Star Trek's fans with curiosity
and questions about Klingon language, RP gamers wishing to lend
some authenticity to a Klingon character, as well as students and
professionals in the fields of linguistics, philology, computer
science, and psychology who see the Klingon language as a useful
metaphor in the classroom or simply wish to mix vocation with
avocation. Though based in the USA, the Institute is actually an
international endeavor, presently reaching thirteen countries on
six continents.
Now doesn't your heart speed up when you read that? The KLI's director
is Lawrence M. Schoen, PhD. The KLI publishes the Journal of the Klingon
Language Institute, HolQeD. It is sent out four times per year. Various
other things, such as sponsored projects, are available through the KLI,
and are mentioned elsewhere in this document.
Purchasing information follows:
Membership: Klingon Language Institute
Director: Lawrence M. Schoen, PhD
Address: PO Box 634
Flourtown, PA 19031-0634
USA
Contact: angghal@aol.com
Price: US: $15 Canada: $18 Elsewhere: $21
Institutional: US: $24 Canada: $27 Elsewhere: $30
US funds only. All checks payable to
Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, KLI.
Benefits: Subscription to HolQeD, annual KLI Directory,
KLI membership card
Title: HolQeD [The Journal of the
Klingon Language Institute]
Publisher: The Klingon Language Institute
Editor: Lawrence M. Schoen, PhD
ISSN: 1061-2327
Frequency: Four times per year
Price: Free w/membership to KLI.
$4 per copy
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5. The Klingon Language Postal Course.
tlhIngan Hol navHIjghach SoQ
The Klingon Language Institute is sponsoring an excellent free course
by mail. Here's the way it works. To begin, send a self-addressed
manilla envelope, big enough for 8-1/2" x 11" papers, stamped with enough
postage for a little over one oz. to David Barron, whose address is below.
You will get back Lesson One. Learn the lesson, and answer the questions
at the end. Send your answers, along with another SASE, back to Mr.
Barron. You will get back Lesson Two, along with your corrected answers
to Lesson One. The cycle continues until the lessons run out. There
are currently about ten lessons.
This course presents much of the material of The Klingon Dictionary
in a more "bite-sized" form, allowing students to gradually increase
their knowledge of Klingon rather than giving it to them a la fire hose.
Purchasing information follows:
Title: Klingon Language Postal Course
Publisher: David Barron
Address: PO Box 37
Eagle, ID 83616
USA
Contact: barron57@aol.com
(208) 939-4287 Tue-Fri 9h-17h MST, Sat 10h-14h MST
Price: Free (except for postage)
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6. Other Klingon Language Institute sponsored projects.
tlhIngan Hol yejHaD numlu'ta'bogh jInmolmey pIm
The KLI currently has four sponsored projects other than the
Klingon Language Postal Course. They are the Klingon Writing
Project, the Extended Corpus Project, the Klingon Bible Translation
Project and the Klingon Shakespeare Restoration Project.
The Klingon Writing Project accepts fiction, nonfiction, and poetry
written in Klingon. There is a proposed annual supplement for KLI
members, which presumably will contain the best works.
The Extended Corpus Project is "an effort to compile a comprehensive
glossary of a Klingon names, terms, and phrases from the multitude of
canonical fiction published."
The Klingon Bible Translation Project is a project to translate the Hebrew
and Christian Scriptures (AKA Old and New Testaments) into Klingon.
The Klingon Shakespeare Restoration Project seeks to translate
Shakespearean prose from English into "the original Klingon".
Information on these projects follows:
Project: Klingon Writing Project
Coordinator: Lawrence M. Schoen, PhD
Address: PO Box 634
Flourtown, PA 19031-0634
USA
Project: Extended Corpus Project
Coordinator: c/o David Sturn
Address: PO Box 2832
Auburn, AL 36831-2832
USA
Project: Klingon Bible Translation Project
Coordinator: Kevin Wilson
Address: 409 Prospect Street, Box 330A
New Haven, CT 06511
USA
Project: Klingon Shakespeare Restoration Project
Coordinator: Sarah Ekstrom (joyleaf@vnet.net)
Address: 730 Lamar Ave. [ may change -- use e-mail ]
Charlotte, NC 28204
USA
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7. Klingon Language mailing lists.
tlhIngan Hol HablI'mey
A Klingon Language mailing list is available for those with access
to Internet mail. Send e-mail with Subject: subscribe to
tlhIngan-Hol-request@klingon.east.sun.com
The FAQ for the mailing list will be mailed to you upon subscription.
Information relating to translation is present in that FAQ.
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8. The Klingon writing system.
pIqaD
There have been several Klingon writing systems published, but
there is really only one which is correct. Basically, there are
three types of writing systems -- the Mandel set, the Paramount set,
and everything else.
The Mandel set is reputed to be the first Klingon writing system.
It is in one-to-one correspondence to the English alphabet, which
makes it unsuitable for writing in Klingon. It is solely used for
artistic appeal. This set should not be used.
The Paramount set is the correct Klingon writing system. It is in
one-to-one correspondence with the Klingon phoneme set. As such,
it can be used for writing in Klingon. The KLI supports the use
of this set. Displays in Star Trek movies and ST:TNG which use this
set don't really say anything in Klingon -- the letters are used
for artistic appeal.
Everything else is basically a sorry attempt to fit the English
alphabet to Klingon. They never work, and should not be used.
A Postscript font on disk of pIqaD -- both the Mandel set
and the Paramount set -- is available through the KLI for US $13.
Mac/Type I and Mac/TrueType are also available.
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9. Klingon language translation programs
tlhIngan Hol mughwI'mey
No, really. They're very difficult to write, especially for us
amateur linguists ;-) There are several translation programs being
worked on. I am working on a C++/yacc E-to-K version in my spare time.
Too bad I have had so little spare time recently...
If you would like to be listed as a translation program developer
here, please e-mail me. Try to use the format for developers below,
but don't restrict yourself to it. If you have something which
doesn't fit easily into the format then break out of the format to
tell me about it.
Developer information follows:
Name: Robert Baruch (baruch@nyenxst.com)
Direction: English to Klingon
OS: UNIX
Program Name: parse (so far)
Summary: Uses C++ and yacc to parse English sentences. Can
handle ambiguous translations by outputting multiple
translations for each interpretation.
Devel. Stat: v0.1 complete. v0.2 under development
Archive: habli.tamu.edu(128.194.170.67):/parser/etok01.tgz
Most impressive sentence translated:
"my definite friends can not see your supposed big blue serpents"
gharghmeyqoqraj tIn SuD leghlaHbe' juppu'na'wIj
gharghmeyqoqlIj tIn SuD leghlaHbe' juppu'na'wIj
Name: Rick Klement (rick@infoserv.com)
Direction: Klingon to English
OS: UNIX (but pretty much generic C)
Program Name: mugh (of course)
Summary: Uses C and a data file with the words (by type) in it.
I started in lex but the compiles were getting too long.
It understands verb prefixes and all verb and noun
suffixes in order, and tries for the best match.
It makes no attempt to produce good English, but just does
the lookups for you.
Devel. Stat: Complete; adding more words.
Archive: none
Most impressive sentence translated: N/A
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10. How to handle disparaging or obviously non-Klingon related posts
I know, what is this doing in a Klingon language FAQ? Because too
often I've seen net.flame.wars erupt over trivialities, and the
'fan' newsgroups usually bear the brunt of it, because fans are
*very* easy to rile. A typical disparaging post on this newsgroup
could be a "Klingons suck" post, or a "Get a life" post. You know
what non-Klingon related posts are -- the Jesus-is-coming posts,
the recent "Blacknet" post, etc.
Flame wars aren't fun. They are unpleasant for others to view,
even though they might be fun for the participants. So, here
are some suggestions which I've seen actually work:
A: Ignore. This clearly works with non-Klingon related posts.
It is *true* that eventually the poster will go away -- what
fun is it to bait net.readers who refuse to bite? No replies,
and no mention of the post at all in any other posts.
A disparaging post will often not contain any rational basis.
Hence, there can be no rational reply. Ad hominem arguments
do not form a rational basis, and so cannot be replied to
in a rational way.
B: Respond in Klingon. If a disparager wants to, he can learn
Klingon to find out what was said. Do not include a single
word of English -- otherwise a convenient handle is given
to continue the silliness.
C: Don't be too quick to take offense. When emotions run high,
so will the mud-slinging. Ignore the mud-slinging; stick to
the subject at hand. A discussion can degenerate all too
easily because of a single off-hand statement.
Similarly, some people will post remarks which can give
offense but which have some indicator which shows that
the remarks are given tongue-in-cheek. Emoticons are the
correct netiquette here, but it's not reasonable to assume
that every user knows netiquette.
In summary, don't do the expected, responding at the same level.
Always remember that there are at least hundreds of people watching
you. Some will choose to make fools out of themselves in front of
an audience; that is their problem, not yours.
Finally, these aren't edicts. They have been proven to work
(except for 'B', and theory is sound). Try them!