Long ago, as the crew of the Enterprise explored the final frontier, one man boldly did what fewif anyactors had ever done before: construct a language from scratch. But while James Doohan (Scotty) may have invented a form of Klingon on the set of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , the real credit for its enduring legacy goes to linguist Marc Okrand, who started developing Klingon for Trek films in 1984, bringing constructed languages (“conlangs”) to generations of new enthusiasts, from Trekkers toDunefans to Na’vi admirers. People constructed languages before Klingon: J.R.R. Tolkien created Quenya in 1915, later used in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings; Edgar Rice Burroughs invented Barsoomian in 1912 for A Princess of Mars; St. Hildegard of Bingen fashioned the Lingua Ignota in 1200, crediting some angels for divine inspiration. But as part of a TV show beloved by millions of viewers, Okrand’s Klingon brought conlangs to the popular lexicon. Much ofKlingon’s appeal comes from its lexical novelty. According to Joey Windsor, a linguistics doctoral student at University of Calgary, Okrand designed Klingon against the conventions of human language: Its meant to sound alien. The sentence structure in Klingon is object-subject-verb, which is the least common construction among all 7,000 human languages; it includes unusual sounds like the trilled “r” (think Willy from The Simpsons) and the guttural “h” (say Bach, with force). “He broke every one of those tendencies, but stopped just shy of the language becoming unpronounceable and unlearnable,” says Windsor. “I would describe Klingon as a barely natural human language.” As the first constructed language widely portrayed on-screen, Klingon faced an additional hurdle: unlike the Elvish dialects in the Lord of the Rings novels, characters had to actually speak it. So Okrand developed a language both grammatically alien and actor-friendly. “It’s a really choppy language,” says Windsor. That’s helpful for any actors who may not yet be fluent in Klingonit allows them to simply memorize syllables, rather than long phrases. Of course, Klingon was ultimately designed for the fans. For first-time viewers, fluent speakers, and those in between, the elaborate dialogue brings them into the world of the Treksomething not all fictional languages pull off. When done haphazardly, invented languages can alienate an astute audience. (Remember when Leia negotiated for Chewbaccas life in Jabbas court using the same few sounds over and over again?) But when done well, conlangs make the fictional world seem far more real. In that regard, Klingon is the standard-bearerand countless others have followed. But its most diehard speakers are stillTrek fans, wholike Windsorhave given the language a life beyond the screen. Since he first got hooked while watching the pilot of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Windsor has given linguistics lectures on Klingon, created four languages himself (which he uses in Dungeons & Dragons), and built up quite the vocabulary of Klingon phrases. To help celebrate this week’s 50th anniversary of Star Trek, WIRED asked Windsor to put together a primer on the language. Whether you’re meeting a Klingon for a beer, in need of a grave insult, or begging for your life, this guide has you covered. (And here’s an International Phonetic Association pronunciation chart, just in case you need help telling a velar fricative from a glottalplosive.) quSDaq balua (Is this seat taken?)Pronounced: qhu.q b lu. vjIjatlh (Speak)Pronounced:d.dt pevIl muqaDmey (Curse well!)Pronounced:ph.vl mu.qh.mj nuqDaq oH puchpae (Where’s the bathroom?)Pronounced:nuq.q ox put.p. nuqDaq oH tache (Where’s the bar?)Pronounced:nuqh.qh ox tt. terangan Soj lujaba (Do they serve Earth food?)Pronounced: th.r.n od lu.db. qut na HInob (Give me the salty crystals)Pronounced: qhut n x.nob qagh Sopbe (He doesn’t eat gagh)Pronounced: q op.b Klingon: HIja/ghobe (Yes/No)Pronounced: x.d/o.b Dochvetlh vIneH (I want that thing!)Pronounced: ot.vet v.nx Hab SoSlI Quch (Your mother has a smooth forehead!)Pronounced: xb o.l qut nuqjatlh (What did you say?)Pronounced: nuq.dt jagh yIbuStaH (Concentrate on the enemy!)Pronounced: d y.bu.tx HeghlumeH QaQ jajvam (Today is a good day to die)Pronounced: x.lu.mx qq dd.vm qaStaH nuq jay (What the #$*@ is happening?)Pronounced: q.tx nuq dj wo batlhvaD (For the honor of the Empire!)Pronounced: wo bt.v tlhIngan maH (We are Klingon!)Pronounced: t.n mx Qapla (Success!)Pronounced: qp.l Source: http://allofbeer.com/18-klingon-phrases-thatll-save-your-life-one-day/ from https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2018/12/14/18-klingon-phrases-thatll-save-your-life-one-day/
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AuthorHi my name is Samantha Roberts I am 23 years old and I just graduated with my BSN degree I love to enjoy going out with friends on my spare time and enjoying the Bachelor life. Archives
April 2019
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