Archive of Okrandian Canon
| Author | Alan Anderson |
|---|---|
| Date | 27 July 2009 |
| Summary | New words from the qep’a’ of 2009, vIlle’ minion, vIl ridge, bump, and names for the sounds of the Klingon language: ‘at, bay, chay, Day, ‘et etc., until ending in yay, qaghwI’ (or ‘). |
| Title | News from Maltz |
| Type |
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
From: "ghunchu'wI'" <qunchuy@alcaco.net>
Subject: News from Maltz
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:40:18 -0400
As qep'a' wa'maH javDIch drew to a close on Sunday morning, Marc Okrand approached a group of Klingonists eating breakfast to relay the following information from Maltz.
1) The noun {vIlle'} means something close to "minion". [The word in English is often used to refer to a loyal or even fawning servant of someone who is typically considered powerful. Compare with "henchman", who has the same general job but is usually a mercenary.]
2) The noun {vIl} is hard to define. Maltz had given a description of something which was immediately recognized as a speed bump by everyone present, but it was apparently intended not as an actual definition but as an example of something which is "just there". There is obviously an etymological relationship with and {vIlle'}, which is currently the best clue we have to its true meaning. ["Groupie" and "entourage" were suggested by those present at the time, but Marc didn't think they fit.]
3) There are names for the individual sounds of spoken Klingon. These are not really the letters of an alphabet [though with the phonetic transcription we use, the distinction is very fine]. They follow a very simple pattern: consonants' names consist of the sound followed by {ay}, and vowels' names consist of the sound preceded by {'} and followed by {t}. The glottal stop sound is an exception, being called {qaghwI'}, though this longish name is often eschewed in favor of a simple grunt of the sound itself.
a : 'at
b : bay
ch: chay
D : Day
e : 'et
gh: ghay
:
u : 'ut
v : vay
w : way
y : yay
' : qaghwI' (or) '
-- ghunchu'wI'