yotna'

The yotna' (Klingon for definite invasion, pronunciation:

S ), is a special kind of gathering of experienced Klingon speakers, smaller than a qep'a', but with no teaching intentions.

History

As qep'a' chorghDIch in Brussels 2001 was drawing to a close, a group of attendees sat in the bar until the wee hours of the morning, trying to prolong the event. One of the topics of conversation was a general desire to have more opportunity just to speak Klingon. Since qep'a' is intended to be a gathering of people with all levels of interest and skill, it might seem a little rude for the more advanced speakers to form a clique and not accommodate the beginners. This is good for the beginners, but frustrating for those who are experienced and wanting to practice in a totally immersive environment.

Slowly, an idea took form. An established convention would be chosen and used as an excuse to get together. The emphasis would be on speaking Klingon as much as possible, in normal, everyday conversation. This would be done in public so others could see it happening, and would perhaps serve a recruitment function.

Different meetings

yotna' 1

yotna' T-shirt 2002

Eventually, the group chose the 2002 Farpoint Science Fiction Media Convention as the meeting point for yotna' wa'DIch. On February 15, a handful of language warriors converged on Hunt Valley, Maryland, occupied a handful of rooms, and generally chatted about everything in Klingon for the weekend. The weather was unseasonably warm, making for pleasant walks down the road to Outback for leng Soj. The KLI had a table set up in the hallway outside the main convention ballroom, not far from the Klingon Jail booth, and the group attracted a few curious onlookers at times. There was a very successful qepHom in the adjoining rooms shared by most of the attendees, with each guest essentially getting his or her private grammarian for the evening. Seqram brought a durian.

The T-shirt of the yotna' shows the phrase yotlu'meH QaQ jajvam, Today is a good day to invade, an adaptation of the common Klingon expression Today is a good day to die.

yotna' 2

The next yotna' in 2003 saw fewer yotwI'pu' (lit. invadors), going along with a slightly smaller Farpoint attendance. There was a severe blizzard that year, stranding everyone at the Hunt Valley Marriot for at least an extra day.

yotna' 3

2004's yotna' wejDIch has been called a yotqoq. The KLI recruitment is said to have gone well, though.

yotna' 4

The February 2006 yotna' had the Worlds of Translation project as a primary focus. The qepHom Saturday night drew a sizeable crowd, and Captain Krankor demonstrated the in-character "tlhIngan jIH - Human SoH" (I am Klingon, you are a Human) teaching strategy to good effect.

Klingon words used in this article

Klingon	English	more
Human	human	noun
jIH	I, me	pronoun
-mey	plural	Type 2 Noun Suffix
-na'	definite	Type 3 Noun Suffix
-pu'	plural	Type 2 Noun Suffix
qepHom	minor meeting	Noun
-qoq	so-called	Type 3 Noun Suffix
SoH	you	pronoun
tlhIngan	klingon	noun
-wI'	one who does	Type 9 Verb Suffix
yot	invasion	noun