Uzh-rarav s’T’Prion — A New Song from T’Prion

We hope that you will enjoy this new song created by T’Prion. She would be happy to discuss it with you in the Forum. Rok-tor etek ta sanoi nash uzh-rarav ik ki’fereik-tor T’Prion. Dungi olau ish-veh kunli pa’ta paribau k’kanok-veh svi’Shi’svatorai.

Posted in Spoken Vulcan, Vulcan Font, Vulcan Language News, Vulcan Writing | 8 Comments

Long Overdue Update • Uzhaya Maut-tab-ma

Today, first of all, my apologies to all who are following things on Korsaya.org. I haven’t posted here for a very long time. There are many reasons for this. They could also be called “excuses”. But, there are two primary causes for my publishing tardiness. Let me tell you about both of them. They are only peripherally related to the Golic Vulcan language, but are relevant enough that I think you might find them interesting.

# 1 — I worked on the film Star Trek Into Darkness.

I consulted for JJ Abrams in the capacity of Klingon language instructor for Zoe and the other Klingons who were filmed on the Kronos set on the Sony lot in Cluver City, California. I was also on set for much of the filming — specifically when lines of dialogue were being spoken in Klingon by anyone. I’m credited in the film as a “language consultant” and you can also observe me in our ad hoc “classroom” in front of a white board and speaking with Zoe and Sean on set in some of the bonus features that were released on blu-ray media in the US on 11 September, 2013. All of the work I did for the production occurred in the late winter and spring of 2012. My contract specifically forbid me from talking in any way about the production, so I laid very low regarding xenolinguistics on Korsaya.org in part due to this factor.

Britton Watkins Star Trek Into Darkness Language Consultant

# 2 — I’m currently co-producing another film with my husband, Josh Feldman, who is the film’s director. We co-wrote it and I assisted him in shooting it over a period of a total of 14 days in and around San Francisco and Sonoma Co., California.

It has nothing to do with Star Trek, but it is science fiction and it does feature a constructed language which is featured on screen pervasively during the film in its written form. The film is called Senn. You can see more information about it by clicking either of the images below. I feel that this film would very much appeal to Vulcans. It’s contemplative and philosophical. I encourage you to check it out and if what you see appeals to you, please LIKE the project on Facebook if you are on Facebook. If you are not on Facebook, but would like to keep informed, you can sign up to receive the newsletter HERE on the film’s main website.

Alien writing from Senn

Bed shot from the sci-fi film SENN

I continue to provide the ZUN font to several people on average each week and though it is still technically in beta, I have received few reports of issues with it, so please feel free to request it from me via traditional e-mail at skladan ‹at› korsaya ‹dot› org if you are interested in having it.

Peace and long life to you and all of those whom you hold dear —

Britton Watkins Star Trek Into Darkness Language Consultant

Alien writing from Senn

Bed shot from the sci-fi film SENN

Posted in Pa’es-ro’fori | 4 Comments

Vulcan Font Update • Uzhaya t’Hiktra ik Zun

Many thanks to all of you who have volunteered to test Zun. Pre-release version 7.2 has been sent to you. Please let me know via a mail to skladan •at• korsaya •dot• org if you have not received it yet via e-mail.

Thank you again and if you would like to join the testing group now for the first time, please request a package at the address above.

Wa’itaren na’kanok-veh ik ki’shetal rivlidalsu na’nisan t’Zun. Ki’pusatal fe-toyeht uzhaya ik 7.2 na’du. Kuv wiri ki’lasha — sanu — ro’fah’voh fna’raf-ar’kada-sakat na’ skladan •na’• korsaya •sfek• org.

Itaren va’ashiv heh kuv sanoi ta i’shetau uzh-kisu t’nissutra — sanu — ya’akash’voh fna’mestaya-yut abru’la.

Posted in Vulcan Font, Vulcan Language News, Vulcan Script, Vulcan Writing | 16 Comments

A New Vulcan Font • Uzh-Hiktra

I am frequently asked if I create the Vulcan writing examples here using ‘a font’. Up until now, my answer has always been “No, but something’s coming.” Well, it has come.

Zun is a cross-platform TrueType font for Vulcan (specifically Golic Vulcan written in the standard (not calligraphic) style).

I am looking for beta-testers. If you know a lot about typography, or just about computers in general and are willing to test and report on any issues you find, please let me know via a mail to skladan •at• korsaya •dot• org.

Thanks in advance for your interest.

K’ashiv pudeshkau na’nash-veh —°Fereik-tor du kitaya-li-fal ik la’gla-tor veh fna’hiktra ha.° Abi’i ki’kilko-tor kwon-sum — °Rai. Hi dungi sarlah ein-kilkaya.° Dom, ki’sarlah i.

Nam-tor Zun mes-skaf-hiktra spo’Tru-Taip na’Gol-Vuhlkansu spo’gotavlu-zukitaun-kuhz ¦ri kuhz t’vanu-tanaf-kitaun¦.

I’naglazhau nash-veh ten-mal-nissu. Kuv ma tu tren t’hiktra il t’tum-vel paing goh eh sanoi ta nis-tor heh na’shikhau pa’fan-wat ik tal-tor, sanu — ro’fah’voh fna’raf-ar’kada-sakat na’ skladan •na’• korsaya •sfek• org.

Itaren n’set’ko fa’ong.

Posted in Vulcan Font, Vulcan Language Details, Vulcan Language News, Vulcan Script, Vulcan Writing | 19 Comments

Calligraphic Numerals • Su’us-nuhm

Behold, the calligraphic numerals. My thanks to any who might have been waiting patiently. I’ma n’su’us-nuhm spo’vanu-tanaf-kitaun. Itaren na’fan-veh ik sos’eh ki’bek-tor k’tranush.

Posted in Vulcan Language Details, Vulcan Script, Vulcan Writing | 17 Comments

Exciting News • Uzh-ro’fori Teporilauk

JJ Abrams announced this week in a brief interview with the Hollywood media that he is officially committed to directing the next Star Trek film. Of particular interest among his comments is the fact that he explicitly stated that Bad Robot is focusing on trying to to get the story right to be appealing to the fans. Those of us who are particularly interested in the Vulcans and their language and culture will be hoping that those themes are at least touched upon in the next film considering the devastating loss of their world in 2009.

Click the image below to see the full story in English.

Ki’starpa’shal Dzhei Dzhei Eibramz bai’pen-na’akashan k’hitrasu t’Halliwud nash-trof ta toyehting ki’kugal na’lof khartau thurai-dvuperuv t’weizehl t’Star-Trek. Wa’ma veh tatayan-set’ko ik svi’tuhskaya t’ish-veh nam-tor kla-min ik rik’ond’ohan afsakal ta i’thakau Bahd Robat na’ta provulau fereik-tor n’dan-rom-var ik wa’kup-ma vaya’akas na’vaikausutra. I’rok-tor etek ik wa’ma set’ko na’Vuhlkantra eh gen-lis heh iyula t’au ta dungi-yaretau veh ish-ong vah tapan-tor n’Va’Pak svi’2009 wa.

Estuhl’voh glakuv ne’la na’lof glantau ovsot-var bai’Eingelsu.

Posted in Pa’es-ro’fori, Spoken Vulcan, Vulcan Language News | 5 Comments

Modern Vulcan Script • Gotavlu-Zukitaun

The modern Vulcan script is the most common in everyday life. While most educated members of society can easily read traditional calligraphy and it is also quite prevalent, they rarely think of it as purely utilitarian. The letters of the modern script evolved over many centuries from the ancient logogram system which is commonly referred to as Tik-Nahp (“each thought”). Here is a sample of a model paragraph (“Stonn killed the le-matya”) in both Tik-Nahp on the left vs. the modern script—Iyi-Gotavlu-Zukitaun—on the right. Notice the isolation of characters in the original system vs. the way they are linked and flow on the right in the modern script Golic Vulcan language. I’nam-tor gotavlu-kitaun ish ik dan-tsukik na’ha’kiv t’kanok-gad. V’yak kup-telv-tor danan t’shila’es-kisu k’ek’saven vanu-tanaf-kitaun – heh ish-ves ved tsukik – riwehat pakagoshau u’ta is’boshik goh. Du’wehk-tehtvun ki’wakrubal zunlar t’gotavlu-zukitaun s’ma’os-torektra t’bikuv-kitaun ik wimish Tik-Nahp. La’nam-tor li-fal-nahptra ik °Stal Stonn le-matya° bai’Tik-Nahp na’los’rak heh Iyi-Gotavlu-Zukitaun na’gas’rak. Beglana’voh sameskaraya t’zun-torektra tehnat spo’ta ma n’naf heh yumau au na’gas’rak bai’iyi-zukitaun t’Gol-Vuhlkansu.

Then and Now

Ish-Wak Tehnat La-Wak

There are a few of the ancient characters which appear commonly in modern life. Those who have attained Kolinar in particular often identify themselves overtly with the ancient name for the discipline. I’nam-tor zamu t’ma’os-bikuv-kitaun ik i’ma n’is la-wak na’iyi-ha’kiv. Wa’gluvau k’ashiv veh ik ma akteibuhl t’Kolinar ish-sha’sha’es bai’ma’os-ahm t’tafar.
This text shows the inventory of every sound in Modern Golic Vulcan rendered in the standard practice paragraph. The text flows from left to right top to bottom. Gluvau nash-kitutra eku t’kanok-ralibi t’Iyi-Gol-Vuhlkansu bai’yidor t’gotavlu-huhrsaya-nahptra. Yumau kitutra s’los’rak na’nahal t’gas-rak hek s’fik na’nahal t’lanet.
It is important to note that traditional calligraphy and the standard script do occur together in the same context quite frequently. Any information related to literature or poetry is more likely to show up in front of one’s eyes in calligraphy. Browsing historical records or even reading for pleasure would likely produce the more ornate writing by default—while for non-verbal commands or other interactions with technology systems one would use the standard script. Vulcans deal easily with both systems simultaneously. When asked how it can be logical to juggle two very different kinds of writing instead of simplifying things into just one, Vulcans are very likely to query in return, “How could it be logical to ignore and forget the defining attributes of one’s past for the sake of some present efficiency when none is required?” Nam-tor yauluhk beglanau n’ta ved k’ashiv k’ka-ek’sitra-klai paresh-tor vanu-tanaf-kitaun gotavlu-zukitaun teretuhr. Nam-tor weh-kesik ta gluvau n’fan-ro’fori ik ma n’tersaya na’kitau-tanaf il zhitanaf bai’tanaf-kitaun. Kesing sagluvau bi-yem t’vesht-vipladan il ruhm telv na’tizh weh-fanet-kitaun shating—v’yak na’sviribaya ri-zhit-bosh il na’vath-svatorai k’ek’mishan-torektra kesing is-tor veh gotavlu-kitaun. Ka-wak k’mohk kup-el’rekau Vuhlkansu on t’torektra. Ish-wak ik deshkau >Kup-nam-tor ta el’rukuvtau n’dahr-torektra maut-natyaik ozhikaik uf< — Kesaing maut-kesing deshkau Vuhlkansu, >Kup-nam-tor bau heh yen t’mesprah-romosh t’vesht-visak’a t’veh na’terai ik ein-yeht-urgam’es t’la-wak uf ruhm-reh ya’bolau n’rim<.
for more detailed information on the standard script, please see the full article. Na’lof gla-tor n’weh-shefik-ro’fori pa’gotavlu-zukitaun—sanu—dzhina’voh ovsot-saven-svin.

Posted in Vulcan Language Details, Vulcan Script, Vulcan Writing | Leave a comment

Vulcan Dialectal Differences • Natyan t’Gen-vuhnaya

1) Use of the object prefix ‹n’› 1— Is t’Lesterai-faterek ik °N’°
Several site visitors have asked via comments and private messages about some of the aspects of grammar that they see used in the dialect here. There are specifically 5 points that should be called out and explained to help new learners and experienced speakers and writers of Modern Golic Vulcan become comfortable with the language they will encounter at Korsaya.org. Ki’deshkal pohl-yaretsu na’nash-shi bai’tuhskaya eh awek-skladan pa’ein-pulva t’zhit-isan ik gla-tor ta la’is-tor na’nash-gen-vuhnaya. Nam-tor kau-tatayan-ong ik dang-bolau sasfekau eh starpa’shau na’lof gol-tor n’uzh-orensu eh n’staribsu eh kitausu t’Iyi-Gol-Vuhlkansu ik ma veshtaya ta shetau mohk-yehat k’nash-gen-lis ik dungi snagel-tor la svi’Korsaya.org.
This prefix is likely the aspect of this site’s dialect that the experienced will find the most different and unusual. It is derived from the prefix ‹na’› which is very common in Modern Golic Vulcan, but is not a mere abbreviation or contraction of that prefix, but rather performs an entirely different function. It marks the object of a non-passive verb when the subject of the action is not stated explicitly. In this role it bears a resemblance to the accusative case in some languages. This distinction still remains in English as “I want X” contrasted wth “X wants me”. Golic Vulcan would express these short sentence normally as °Aitlu nash-veh X° and °Aitlu X nash-veh° respectively (with no change in °nash-veh° for “I/me”. However, because Golic Vulcan is pro-drop (meaning that it does not require pronouns to be expressed when they are clear from context), it is quite easy for ambiguity to arise. Does °Aitlu nash-veh° mean that someone or thing wants me, or that I am doing the wanting? The ‹n’› prefix clears up this question by overtly showing when a subject has been omitted. Kesing nam-tor nash-faterek pulva t’genvuhnaya t’nash-shi ik dan-ritsuri-natyan na’veshtausu. Tveshu faterek ik °NA’° ik maut-tsukik na’Iyi-Gol-Vuhlkansu, ki ri e’nam-tor zhipenaya il pinut t’ish-faterek, ki keing torper-tor natya-is-lof ovsotik. Ulidau n’lesterai t’torupik-tor-zhit ish-wak ri nam-tor pa’shi-star-krus t’navel t’torai. U’nash-pershul ma n’kahkwa’es na’iswaku t’lesterai t’ein-gen-lis. Wi i’hafau nash-natyan-ves na’FSE u’pi’zhit’bal ik °I want X° ik kelam-tor tehnat °X wants me°. Tsuring satiben Gol-Vuhlkansu nash-zhit-bal penik u’nash ik°Aitlu nash-veh X° heh °Aitlu X nash-veh° fupa s’zek | k’rubah na’nash-veh u’zhit ik °I/me° rim |. Ki, fayei nam-tor Gol-Vuhlkansu gen-ves ik nelau n’ulef-vel-zhit — tvai n’ta ri ya’bolau n’ta satiben n’ulef-vel-zhit ish-wak pa’shik s’ek’sitra-klai — nam-tor ved velik ta ma n’paresh t’ond’ohan. Tvai zhit ik °Aitlu nash-veh° ta aitlu veh il ein-vel nash-veh il ta veh ik aitlu nam-tor nash-veh, ha. Sapa’shau faterek ik °n’° ond’ohan bai’ta tu’ashing gluvau n’wak ik ki’nelal n’navel.
The Pronunciation of this ‹n’› varies with the phonemes it encounters to its right as does that of other purely consonantal prefixes. Note: ‹n’yon› ››› /ɲon/ for OBJ-burning/blaze with no epenthetic schwa (ə). Vuhnau salasharaya t’nash-faterek ik °N’° bai’ralibi ik snagel-tor na’gas-rak u’vath-faterek ik drom-ikastarzun. Beglana’uh— shetau °n’yon° ››› /ɲon/ rik’hayai-ralash ik °uh° /ə/.
2) Dependent Clause Markers ‹Ik› and ‹Ta› 2— Ulidar t’Ner-zhirabal ik °IK° Heh °TA°
Korsaya.org has not been able to locate the VLI “coming soon” lessons on complex sentences in Golic Vulcan. It is assumed that they were never published. However, example sentences reveal the existences of ‹ik› (that, which (relative pronoun) and ‹ta› (that (conjunction)). Both are used extensively here. Examples: Riwi vesht kup-tal-tor Korsaya.org tupa t’Shi-Oren Vuhlkansu ik wimish “coming soon” pa’wehkon-zhit-bal t’Gol-Vuhlkansu. Ki’miyusal ta worla ki’saladal. Hi, ahklavau zhit-bal t’li-fal nam t’dah-zhit ik °IK° ik ulef-vel-zhit tomik heh °TA° ik naf-zhit. La’is-tor n’on k’ashiv. Li-fal:
Vesht nam-tor yar-le-matya ik stal Stonn.
It was a green le-matya that/which Stonn killed.
Vesht nam-tor yar-le-matya ik stal Stonn.
It was a green le-matya that Stonn killed.

Illustration by Ani •  Var-bikuv s’Ani
But note: Beglana’voh—
Vesht nam-tor yar-le-matya ik stal n’Stonn.
It was a green le-matya that/which killed Stonn.
Vesht nam-tor yar-le-matya ik stal n’Stonn.
It was a green le-matya that killed Stonn.
Rok-tor nash-veh ta ak’kup-ragel-tor etek.
I hope that we can meet soon.
Rok-tor nash-veh ta ak’kup-ragel-tor etek.
I hope that we can meet soon.
Tor-yehat ta ak’kup-ragel-tor etek.
It is possible that we can meet soon.
Tor-yehat ta ak’kup-ragel-tor etek.
It is possible that we can meet soon.
Sanoi ta ak’kup-ragel-tor etek.
It pleases (is agreeable) that we can meet soon.
Sanoi ta ak’kup-ragel-tor etek.
It is agreeable that we can meet soon.
‹Ta› can also function as a substitute for gerunds when the verb in the gerund needs to take objects. Kup-vath’kizh-tor n’zhit ik °TA° na’torvel-zhit isha ish-wak bolau tor-zhit t’torvel-zhit el’tanarau is-vel.
Tal-tor n’yeht-kilkaya bai’ta deshkau n’yeht-suyu yehting.
(One) finds the correct answer by asking the correct people properly.
Tal-tor n’yeht-kilkaya bai’ta deshkau n’yeht-suyu yehting.
(One) finds the correct answer by asking the correct people properly.
Alternately for the same meaning without ‹ta›: Krusiting na’ka-tvah rik’zhit ik °TA°—
Tal-tor n’yeht-kilkaya bai’yeht-deshkaya t’yeht-suyu. Tal-tor n’yeht-kilkaya bai’yeht-deshkaya t’yeht-suyu.
The marking of ‹ta› with ‹n’› is common with omitted subjects, but not mandatory. Where two dependent clauses might occur together, it is more common for the subject to become a gerund. Nam-tor ulidaya t’zhit ik °TA° bai’faterk ik °N’° tsurik ish-wak ri ma n’navel, hi ri ya’bolaya. Ish-wak lau-paresh-tor dah-ner-zhirabal teretuhr, weh-tsuring shetau navel torvel-zhit.
Vesht aisha shaya t’makh ta wa’stron-tor sov vi’tvi-shal.
Breaking the glass caused the air to escape (explosively) into the chamber. (Lit: The breaking of the glass caused that the air escape (intensely/greatly) into the chamber.)
Vesht aisha shaya t’makh ta wa’stron-tor sov vi’tvi-shal.
Breaking the glass caused the air to escape (explosively) into the chamber.
Additional note on the use of ‹ik›. ‹Nam-tor› in the role of the the copula is almost universally dropped after ‹ik›: Hayai-pitoh pa’is t’zhit ik °IK°— Enem-tor n’zhit ik °NAM-TOR° u’naf-tor-zhit po’zhit ik °IK° siyah ek’ovsoting.
Nam-tor T’Lin ik otrensu t’nash-trahokna ko-kuk t’nash-veh isha.
T’Lin, who is the Master of this institution is also my aunt.
Nam-tor T’Lin ik otrensu t’nash-trahokna ko-kuk t’nash-veh isha.
T’Lin, who is the Master of this institution is also my aunt.
3) Adverbs Formed with a Suffixed ‹Ng› 3— Nosh-zhit ik Shidorau
3—
k’Raltvah-krus ik °-NG°
This site’s dialect forms adverbs ending in ‹-ng› out of standard adjectives that end in ‹-ik› fairly productively. You may not find these consistently noted in any dictionary, but the meanings are predictable based on the adjectival forms. Shidorau gen-vuhnaya t’nash-shi nosh-zhit ik shahtau k’raltvah-krus ik °-ng° s’rub-zhit ik shahtau k’raltvah-krus ik °-IK° toming torvaing. Lau-pavesh-tor ta ri kup-tal-tor n’nash-faika-zhitlar svi’zhit-dunap, hi kup-kriltesau n’tvah s’rub-zhit-shid.
4) The Adverbial Prefix ‹E’› 4— Nosh-zhit-faterek ik °E’°
Like the adverbial prefixes ‹i’›, ‹la’›, ‹wa’›, etc., the morpheme ‹e’› can affix directly to a verb to convey the sense of “only, just, simply”. Compare the free adverb form ‹goh›. Example: U’nosh-zhit-faterek ik °I’°, °LA’°, °WA’°, k’ka-vehlar, kup-kifau raltvah-krus ik °E’° na’tor-zhit na’lof zhelesh n’tvah ik °goh, veling, nening°. Li-fal—
E’nam-tor kisheya.
It’s just an accident. / It’s merely an accident.
E’nam-tor kisheya.
It’s just an accident. / It’s merely an accident.
Note: The sense of immediate past in FSE (“That just happened (a moment ago).”) is NOT conveyed by this prefix. Beglana’voh — Ri zhelesh nash-faterek tvah t’FSE ik sagluvau n’iwi-vesht u’nash ik °That just happened (a moment ago).° ik tvah ik °Iwi-vesht pavesh-tor ish.°
5) The Verb Prefix ‹Dang-› 5— Tor-zhit-faterek ik °DANG-°
Like the verb prefixes ‹kup-›, ‹lau-›, etc., the element ‹dang-› can affix directly to a verb to convey the sense of “ideal course of action”. It is generally translated as “should”. Compare to ‹vun-› (must) and realize that ‹dang-› is similar in feeling to this prefix, but weaker. Example: U’tor-zhit-faterek ik °KUP-°, °LAU-°, °WA’°, k’ka-vehlar, kup-kifau zhit-krus ik °DANG-° na’tor-zhit na’lof zhelesh n’tvah t’°tangu-torai-dotoran°. Mesukh-tor paing u’zhit t’Fse ik “should”. Navatha’voh na’faterek ik °VUN-° heh ken’voh ta ma n’kahkwa-olaya, nam-tor weh-kobatik. Li-fal—
Dang-stariben du.
You should speak.
Dang-stariben du.
You should speak.
Vun-stariben du.
You must (have to) speak.
Vun-stariben du.
You must (have to) speak.
If you have any questions about these dialectal variations or other differences you find here, please do not hesitate to inquire at the address provided in the Contact section of this site. Kuv ma tu fan-deshker pa’nash-natyan t’gen-vuhnaya il vath-natyan-ves ik la’tal-tor — sanu — ri ma’voh fan-vaunah pa’ta deshkau fna’krus t’mestaya t’nash-shi rim.

Posted in Vulcan Language Details | 13 Comments

Expressing Thanks • Itar’es – Naat – Klem

Vulcans are not known for keeping a stack of thank-you notes in their desk drawer. They are very conservative when it comes to expressing thanks, but there are several ways to do this effectively in their language without upsetting  the pragmatic balance in conversation. Ri wa’pufai-tor Vuhlkantra na’ta potau n’tuh t’nop na’itar’es svi’zhis-nef t’sha-kitau-skaf. Satiben n’itar’es goh korsating – ki nam-tor pohl-renyut ik dau-boshing kup sagluvau bai’gen-lis t’au rik’ta svi-shau n’vo’ektaya t’paribaya.

ITAREN

The most common Vulcan word associated with the FSE concept of “thanks” is the verb ITAREN, which is based on the stem ITAR. The original meaning is closer to the concept of  “acknowledge” or “recognize” than it is to “show gratefulness”. Dan-tsuk-zhit ik katravah veh k’rata t’°thanks° svi’FSE nam-tor tor-zhit ik °itaren° ik nenam-tor zhit-gir ik ITAR. Tvesh-tvah weht-beik na’rata t’°nafai° il °naglanshaya° do °gluvaya t’klem°.
However, if prefixed with the adverbial intensifier WA’, even ITAREN takes on the feeling of gratitude. Ki, kuv ma n’rubitayek nosh-zhitik ik WA’, ruhm zhit ik ITAREN torvau n’cha’i t’klem.

Formal

Itaren nash-veh odu na’_______.

I thank you for _______.

Informal

Itaren.

Thank you.

Wa’paitaren du..

Thank you very much! (Lit. “You (are) very much appreciated!”)

Responses

The standard response is to give the most subtle nod or tilt of the head to indicate that one has understood the recognition. Or…

Malating.

Any time. (Lit. ‘naturally’ meaning “I did it in the normal course of things.”)

Veling.

Of course. (meaning, “Logically, it was the (correct) thing for me to do.”)

NAAT

A more traditional approach to thanking someone when a genuine feeling of appreciation is involved is to overtly state “respect”. This is especially the case when someone is being recognized for performing activities or duties extraordinarily. Weht-baik renyut na’lof itaren n’veh ish-wak ik tra’nam-tor yeht-cha’i tu’ashing satiben n’naat. Wa’nam-tor nash nuf ish-wak ik itaren n’veh na’toran il gu-vam ik fitor wehtsuring.

Formal

Cha’i t’naat.

Thank you. (lit. ‘sentiment of respect’)

Informal

Naat na’du.

Thank you. (Lit. ‘respect to you’)

Responses

Malating.

Any time. (Lit. ‘naturally’ meaning “I did it in the normal course of things.”)

Dan-neruk.

Most humbly. (meaning, “I humbly accept your recognition.”)

Veling.

Of course. (meaning, “Logically, it was the (correct) thing for me to do.”)

KLEM

The word KLEM is the closest in meaning to FSE “gratitude”. It implicitly contains references to the emotions of the grateful party and is heard very rarely in the normal course of Vulcan life. Zhit ik KLEM dan-kahkwa-tvah na’°gratitude° t’FSE. Ro’taning tuhlau n’dzhinaya na’zherka t’klem-bosh-veh eh puzhu-tor goh maut-ritsuring svi’ha’kiv-yumaya kanok-gadik t’Vuhlkantra.

Most Formal

Dan-neruk klem-bosh nash-veh na’_________.

I am most humbly grateful for __________.

Sanu — nar’voh neruk klem t’nash-veh.

Please, accept my humble gratitude.

Formal

Cha’i t’klem.

(I) Feel grateful.

Ek’klem na’odu

All gratitude to you.

Informal

Dan-klem-bosh..

(I am) Most grateful!

Responses

Formal

Itaren n’oklem.

(I) thank you for your honorable gratitude. (The FSE sentiment is “You’re very welcome.”)

Informal

Itaren.

The FSE sentiment is “You’re welcome.”

Posted in Vulcan Language Details | 12 Comments

El’ru-kitaun • Vulcan Handwriting

Very few non-Vulcans are familiar with Vulcan handwriting. It is one of the first things taught to Vulcan children in their formal education, but other than the context of private contemplation, there is very little need to write by hand in modern Vulcan society.This example shows the two sentences “Stonn killed the le-matya with an antler that he found in the sand after the animal bit his kneecap. It was mid-afternoon.” It is then followed by the numerals 0~9. I’nam-tor el’ru-kitaun maafainik goh na’ri-vuhlkansu maut-zamik. Nam-tor wuhkuh t’wuhr-ong ik saven-tor na’kanu vuhlkansu svi’hotor-ek’saven, ki kula na’ong t’sha’tapan, nam-tor maut-pi’bolaya ik kitau k’el’ru svi’iyi-shila’es t’vuhlkantra. Sagluvau nash li-fal dah-zhit-bal °Stal Stonn le-matya k’stonn ik tal-tor svi’mazhiv po’ta zeshal aushfa mal-nef-hinek t’sa-veh. Ish-wak svi-aru.° Po’ish palikau feim t’su’us ik s’0 abi’9.

Gotavlu-el’ru-kitaun abulik

It is very easy to see that this type of script bears no design relationship to ceremonial calligraphy. The same text appears in both formats below. They are from two completely different traditions. However, they share the tendency to be more often written vertically than horizontally. Veling kup gla-tor veh ta ri ma nash kitaun-ves patanafaya-tersaya na’vanu-tanaf-kitaun. Ne’la saudau ka-kitaya fna’on t’yidor. Sasarlah s’dah-natya-ba’tak — hemshin vuhrgwau galat-venek ik pukitau weh-k’ashiv abuling do yuting.

Navathaya t’el’ru-kitaun na’vanu-tanaf-kitaun

The handwriting glyphs originate from the same traditional system that is sometimes represented on ancient Vulcan dice. But, there is no obvious one to one correlation visually between the two due to the fact that the letters have undergone extensive simplification over time. Stylistically, these letterforms are somewhat similar to the standard script, but do not mimic them directly. Tveshulau zhiyeh t’el’ru-kitaun s’ka-ba-torektra ik ein-wak saudau svi’ma’os-zhagra-muk. Ki ri nam-tor pa’shi-pashif spo’glan-ka’es sva’dahkuh fna’kla-min ik ki-veshtal velin’es lo’uk mes’wak. Fupa s’kuhz nash zhiyeh plo-kahkwa ka’a’gotavlu-zukitan, ki ri va’amau kharing.

Yuti-ves t’dan-yeht-iskan’es

This type of handwriting also appears horizontally and unlike traditional calligraphy does not rotate its glyphs when that occurs. They are simply positioned side by side with spaces between words. However, there are two major stylistic variations regarding the method of writing the vowels. In the most common style, vowels are written as superscript diacritics above the consonants. This is similar to some Indic abugida systems on Terra. The main reason for this is spacial efficiency. Compare the horizontal text above and below this paragraph to see that the preceding style requires less horizontal space than the one that follows. In the independent vowel model, each vocalic glyph rides on a ‘carrier’ in a similar fashion to Korean syllables that begin with a silent ‘ng’. Isha yuting saudau nash el’ru-kitaun-ves heh rika’a’vanu-tanaf-zukitan ri da-tor zhiyeh ish-wak paresh-tor doming. Veling pushul-tor vla be’vla spo’ta ret svi’kanok-zhit. Ki, vah na’tikap t’ikatu’azun-kitaun nam-tor mortuyik-renyut-vuhnaya dah. Vah na’dan-tsuk-renyut kitau n’ikatu-azun abru’ikastarzun u’abu-salashar-ulidar kahkwaing ein-kitaun-torektra u’abugida t’India t’Terra. Nel-utvau na’nash skurin ret-yeht-urgam’es. Navathau n’yuti-zukitaun weh-abuk na’veh weh-nuk ik ne’nash nahptra na’lof pakashogau n’ta ya’bolau wuhr-renyut ten t’yuti-ret do veh ik zahal-tor. Vah na’rev t’tikop-ikatu-azun fau-tor kanok-zhiyeh t’ikatu-azun fi’leshek vah tikap ik kahkwa zhit-shaya t’Hanguk-gen ik palikau k’ngo ralash-famik.

Yuti-ves spo’tik-nuhm k’wuhli

If having two different systems for horizontal handwriting seems illogical, quite the opposite is true. Vulcan children are taught that logic is not merely some universal correct answer to a question, but rather the concept or discipline of processing the information at hand to make an optimally informed choice. When writing horizontally one must choose the style which is most logical for the immediate task. One must choose overall efficiency over clean, linear simplicity. The correct answer lies only in the mind of the maker of the choice.

A more complete introduction to Vulcan handwriting with all letters and conventions is available HERE.

Kuv ma dahr-natya-torektra na’yuti-el’ru-kitaun sauyau riozhikaik, mesyuting wa’nam-tor yeht’es. Saven-tor n’kan ta ri nam-tor ozhika veling ein-yeht-kilkaya ek’ovsotik na’deshker, ki keing rata il tafar ik tapan-tor n’ro’fori la’ka-yehat na’lof dvel-tor vah ki’puro’fah dan-roming. Ish-wak ik kitau yuting vun-dvel-tor veh renyut ik dan-ozhikaik na’iwi-pi-zupkes. Tal-tor veh yeht-kilkaya goh svi’sha-kashek t’veh ik dvel-tor.

LA i’nam-tor whet-ovsot-ragtaya na’el’ru-kitaun-torektra ik vinam-tor ek’nuhm heh ek’skurin.

Posted in Vulcan Language Details, Vulcan Writing | Tagged , | 6 Comments