Klingon language attitudes

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 9/11/04 3:55:04 PM, mamandel at LDC.UPENN.EDU writes:


> I have met many Klingon-speakers and am to some
> degree one myself, and I can testify that our attitudes vary considerably in
> terms of prescriptivism and how much latitude we are willing to allow, both
> within the rather sketchy grammar outlined in Okrand's books and in the gaps
> where there is no clear guidance. I have never met any Klingons -- as far as
> we are concerned in the KLI, only Dr. Okrand has direct access to Klingon
> informants -- but you can take some indication from the following excerpts
> from the grammar section of _The Klingon Dictionary_.
>

The grammar sketched in Okrand's work purports to be descriptive, not
prescriptive, right? That is, this is what Klingons do do, not what they "should" do.
god forbid that a mavin should tell a real Klingon what he or she "should"
do. In suggesting that correcting a speaker of Klingon about language could be
dangerous, I was thinking only of native speakers, who are known to be prideful
and belicose.