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Game Forum / Action Games / Half Life / September 2006Is Klingon a real language? The definitive answer....
.. they've made a movie about it, so it must be! http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,1 866847,00.html Zug zug! ___ Neil aka HighVis -- > .. they've made a movie about it, so it must be! Careful... you -know- he's watching...  SignatureBen Cottrell AKA Bench > > .. they've made a movie about it, so it must be! > > Careful... you -know- he's watching... I'm not exactly "watching". It's more like having a secretary who buzzes me on the intercom when something interesting is going on. Anyway, I'm in that film. I think it does a good job of showing the group as it really is, without taking cheap shots or editorializing. The clips of Michael Dorn speaking about the language are pretty sad, though -- he talks from a position of ignorance and perhaps even resentment. The review misses the mark a bit when it speaks of Star Trek fans. Few of us are Trekkies. We're *language* fans. (The significant exception is one fellow that even many the hardcore Klingon speakers consider an embodiment of the concept "pathetic".) Indeed, at the Klingon language conference this past July, the TV show _Serenity_ kept finding its way into conversation, and Star Trek was almost never discussed. By the way, Captain Krankor almost never attends conventions; his "Imperial Anthem" was written for the infamous Klingon Language Camp in Minnesota nearly fifteen years ago. His habit of wearing a Klingon forehead and hairpiece as if it were an ill-fitting hat is just part of the game. > The review misses the mark a bit when it speaks of Star Trek fans. Few > of us are Trekkies. We're *language* fans. Some of us are both, but mind you, I don't *live* Trek. <g> Signature-- * Move along, nothing to see here. Yahoo: evilbill_agqx Web: http://www.evilbill.org.uk >> > .. they've made a movie about it, so it must be! >> >> Careful... you -know- he's watching... > > I'm not exactly "watching". Classic :) > Anyway, I'm in that film. Are you the guy who only spoke Klingon to his son? If so, how did he get along once he started school? > The clips of Michael Dorn speaking about the language are pretty sad, > though -- he talks from a position of ignorance and perhaps even > resentment. The millionaire Michael Dorn? Resentment seems unlikely. Then again I don't know what he said. > (The significant exception > is one fellow that even many the hardcore Klingon speakers consider an > embodiment of the concept "pathetic".) Condemnation indeed. > By the way, Captain Krankor almost never attends conventions; his > "Imperial Anthem" was written for the infamous Klingon Language Camp in > Minnesota nearly fifteen years ago. His habit of wearing a Klingon > forehead and hairpiece as if it were an ill-fitting hat is just part of > the game. I know I'll probably regret asking, but why was the Klingon Language Camp infamous? (Other than for Krankor's habit) -- Paul > > Anyway, I'm in that film. > > Are you the guy who only spoke Klingon to his son? No, it wasn't me. > If so, how did he get along once he started school? The experiment was deemed a failure and discontinued when the kid was three years old. Having nobody but his father to talk to in Klingon, he eventually refused to speak it. > > The clips of Michael Dorn speaking about the language are pretty sad, > > though -- he talks from a position of ignorance and perhaps even > > resentment. > > The millionaire Michael Dorn? Resentment seems unlikely. Then again I don't > know what he said. The rumor is that he heard about a Klingon translation of the Bible, got upset at the concept, and informed the producers of Deep Space Six that he was no longer to encourage such behavior by fringe fanatics by using words from the dictionary in the show. He has stated in interviews that he doesn't speak Klingon and wishes people would stop wasting time on it. His comments in "Earthlings" included extreme doubt that one could translate Shakespeare into Klingon. That is amusing because the producer of the film got his inspiration from the published Klingon translation of Hamlet. He also came up with this conceited little gem: "When I die, Klingon dies." > I know I'll probably regret asking, but why was the Klingon Language Camp > infamous? (Other than for Krankor's habit) I used the term mostly because it got lots of media attention, and a lot of people have heard of it, many of whom understandably think it's a silly idea. There's also a sublayer of infamy in the Klingon language community involving one of the organizers and his need for control (and money), the details of which I only know secondhand and won't go into here. *** As for _Serenity_ vs. _Firefly_, I apologize for getting them confused. I had never heard of it until six weeks ago, and I've been watching the German DVD set which calls the show "Serenity". > The experiment was deemed a failure and discontinued when the kid was > three years old. Having nobody but his father to talk to in Klingon, he > eventually refused to speak it. Trying to think of the correct phrase in response here... .. well, du-uh! My partner has a phrase used occasionally, a "sealed envelope" situation. Write down what you think is *going* to happen as the result of some event, seal it in an envelope, and only open it after the results have taken place (note: this doesn't actually need to physically happen). I think we could all have predicted that outcome - hell, I bet the rest of you Klingon speakers predicted it - what on earth was he thinking? If it's really about 'language' and not about 'Star Trek', doesn't the concept of critical mass enter into any of your discussions? ___ Neil aka HighVis -- > If it's really about 'language' and not about 'Star Trek', doesn't the > concept of critical mass enter into any of your discussions? No, because there is no phrase in Klingon that translates as 'common sense'. They don't have one for 'snuggle' or 'fluffy kitty', either. == Thad neeeeeeeeed ccccccccccoffffffffffffeeeeeeeee.... >> If it's really about 'language' and not about 'Star Trek', doesn't the >> concept of critical mass enter into any of your discussions? [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Thad > neeeeeeeeed ccccccccccoffffffffffffeeeeeeeee.... What is the Klingon for "fuckwit"? Neil Jones wrote: > If it's really about 'language' and not about 'Star Trek', doesn't the > concept of critical mass enter into any of your discussions? Oh, absolutely. It figures prominently in our goal to keep from developing "dialects" that can't be learned from the published books. We lament what seems to be the end of exponentially increasing interest in the language. We also find it very disheartening that there are people actively *discouraging* others from looking into a language that challenges many assumptions about what language is. Though we are relatively few and widely scattered, most conversations in Klingon take place in an email discussion group where time and distance are less important. When a largish group of us gets together, however, the "critical mass" idea is quite evident as Klingon becomes a living language. It is perfectly up to the task of serving for everyday communication. The linguist who chose to try Klingon as one of his son's native languages did so mostly to see how well it worked. The conclusion: it didn't work very well, but most likely for the same reason any extreme minority language fails to be used up by a child, rather than because of anything inherently "wrong" with Klingon. Others in the home and community obviously spoke English, so it's not like he was being deprived of a normal upbringing. > No, because there is no phrase in Klingon that translates as 'common > sense'. They don't have one for 'snuggle' or 'fluffy kitty', either. It is irritating to see statements like this coming from a position of ignorance. The Klingon phrase {meq motlh} "typical reason" carries the same idea as "common sense". Snuggling can be described succinctly as {'uchchuq}, and {vIghro'Hom tun} works fine for "fluffy kitty". >> If so, how did he get along once he started school? > > The experiment was deemed a failure and discontinued when the kid was > three years old. Having nobody but his father to talk to in Klingon, he > eventually refused to speak it. Blimey, I was only kidding. I assumed that his son was really in his teen or adult years and simply tutted and rolled his eyes whenever his Dad persisted with his hobby language. -- Paul > Indeed, at the Klingon language > conference this past July, the TV show _Serenity_ kept finding its way > into conversation, and Star Trek was almost never discussed. <nitpick> Serenity was the film, the TV show was called 'Firefly' :) SignatureBen Cottrell AKA Bench HIja' 'oH 'oH > .. they've made a movie about it, so it must be! > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Neil > aka HighVis carefull what you say, that goes for all of ya! after all, it's STAR TREK's 40th birthday today... > Zug zug! Orcish is really a real language too! :) -- Paul >>Zug zug! > > Orcish is really a real language too! :) KEK! SignatureBen Cottrell AKA Bench |
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