[Tlhingan-hol] how did Okrand choose which words to create ?

[lojmIt tI'wI' nuv 'utlh]

In addition to ghunchu’wI’’s perfect recollection of how the vocabulary evolved in Klingon, many of the words have a story behind them. People who have been long loyal to the language and made significant labor contributions to the KLI and its mission have been awarded “Friends of Maltz” certificates and granted the privilege of asking for a new word in the vocabulary. He’s usually met these few requests with small sets of words that are useful in describing things like the word requested.

ghunchu’wI’ is one of the people awarded that honor, as have, I believe SuStel, Seqram and several others. It’s a rare treat. I asked for “bottom”, and we got {pIrmuS}, among other words, and just last week, I went to see Midsummer Night’s Dream and saw the play within a play where the lover Pirimus is played by an actor named Bottom. The play is hilarious and was wonderfully produced by the world-class Shakespearian players at Blackfriars Theater, in, of all places, Harrisonburg, VA.

But as funny as it was, I was smiling wider than everybody else.

But it’s a one-shot deal. He doesn’t ask us for more words later on...

Sometimes book authors consult with Dr. Okrand, requesting words (usually nouns). Sometimes language instruction companies come up with a Klingon program and ask for vocabulary.

Sometimes, Paramount comes up with a product that they want words for, like the Klingon version of the Bird of Prey poster, with a cutaway and technical descriptions and cutaways.

And sometimes, Okrand just thinks of something to add, usually with some sort of joke hidden inside that we may or may not ever figure out.

lojmIt tI’wI’ nuv ‘utlh
Door Repair Guy, Retired Honorably



> On Oct 11, 2015, at 11:20 AM, HoD qunnoQ <mihkoun at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> i would like to ask,if anyone knows whether Okrand has ever commented on how he chose which English words to translate to Klingon,and which to omit. Is anything known on this subject ?
> 
> for instance why create a word for <<country>> and not a word for <<personalize>> ; why a word for <<plate>> and not a word for <<folder>> ? (just random examples)
> 
> qunnoQ
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