Here’s the link: DaHjaj-Hol-111012
You can also subscribe via iTunes:
Advanced > Subscribe to Podcast > and enter the URL: http://bit.ly/tlh-pod
Hello, and welcome. You’re listening to DaHjaj Hol, your daily dose of Klingon language. I’m your host, Lawrence Schoen.
Today’s chuvmey is the last of our exclamations, and the one you’ve probably known all along. It’s nuqneH. N, U, Lowercase Q, N, E, Capital H. nuqneH means what do you want?, and is probably the closest thing that Klingons have to a greeting. The idea here is very simple, if one Klingon walks up to another, he or she presumably is doing so for a purpose, whether it be to ask for assistance, borrow a weapon, issue a challenge, or any of a number of other things. If you remember that Klingons are almost always direct and to the point then it makes perfect sense to look that person in the eye and demand to know what brings him here, why is she interrupting you, or more simply, what do you want.
This exclamation is so simple and straightforward that I’m not going to bother to give you any examples. You already have all the context you should ever need. Instead, I expect you to use this word the next time someone walks up to you, be it a friend or lover, employer or teacher. Merely look this person in the eye and demand to know what brings them to you. nuqneH
Because people can, you know, understand your words even when they don’t know the language. Context and intonation, the way you hold yourself, the expression on your face, all carry meaning. So even if the person you’re speaking to doesn’t know the Klingon word for what do you want?, your meaning will still come through. Language, even when it’s not understood, can still open worlds. qo'mey poSmoH Hol.
Today’s podcast is brought to you by Buffalito Destiny by Lawrence M. Schoen.
“The Amazing Conroy is a stage hypnotist who has parlayed an alien buffalo dog — a creature that eats anything and farts oxygen — into a powerful corporation worth billions. An ambitious plan to use these buffalitos to clean up toxic waste sites places him in direct conflict with a radical anti-alien ecoterrorist organization, and before long, Conroy is on the run with only his pet buffalito, Reggie, and his gambler pal, Left-John Mocker, to aid him. As bizarre dreams guide him inexorably towards a mysterious destiny, Conroy deals with prophetic aliens, ancient Mayan ruins, exquisite sandwiches and the temporally-unstable state of Texas. Part crisis-filled road trip, part gonzo race against time, and all tongue-in-cheek humor and charm, this nutty tale may sound strange, but Schoen somehow makes it all come together.”
–Publishers Weekly
“Only Lawrence Schoen could blend the Mayan eschaton, nightclub hypnotism, corporate elitism, radical environmentalism, and good old-fashioned slam-bang adventure fiction.”
— Jay Lake, Campbell Award winner
Tags: Klingon
