tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jun 27 06:55:33 1994
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
jatlhwI' po'be'
>>And just for the hell of it, charghwI' offers something
>>COMPLETELY different:
>>tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhmeH jIpo'qu'be'.
>>"For the purpose that I speak Klingon, I am not very skilled."
>>It just seems a little more to the point.
>I don't know, it doesn't work too well for me. "I'm not very skilled in
>order to speak Klingon"? Sounds like not being skilled is a prerequisite
>to speaking Klingon! Like skilled people can't do it. I think "-DI'" is
>more appropriate here, really.
>tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhDI', jIpo'qu'be'.
>"When I speak Klingon, I'm not very skilled."
>I suppose you could also do
>tlhIngan Hol vIjatlh 'e' vInIDDI', jIpo'qu'be'.
>"When I try to speak Klingon, I am not very skilled."
>I suppose one could use "-taHvIS" here as well, but the connoted
>relationship implied by "-DI'" works better.
>>charghwI'
>~mark
I don't believe your usage of {-DI'} is quite correct. Think all the way to
the actually meaning of {-DI'}, rather than generalizing it to be a mere
substitute for every instance in which the English "when" would be
appropriate. {-DI'} has a much narrower meaning than "when" has. {-DI'} is
described to mean "as soon as". It indicates simultaneity with the action
described in the main clause, altho the verb which tacks on {-DI'} carries
the connotation of being very brief, an instant in time, as opposed to
{-vIS}, which indicates a longer, more continuous event.
Your usage was: {tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhDI' jIpo'qu'be'}. But this really means,
"As soon as I speak Klingon, I am not skilled," rather than your intended
"*Whenever* I speak Klingon..." Klingon does not have a suffix indicating
such a general or repetitive relationship between clauses, like the word
"whenever" in English.
Now, of course, I'm going to offer my own suggestion, which is a bit closer
to that of charghwI':
{tlhIngan Hol jatlhwI' po' jIHbe'}
I *do* actually agree with charghwI''s use of {-meH}. I merely would not
choose to use it in this circumstance. charghwI' may not like my example
quite as well, as it uses those screwy pronominal verbs.
Guido#1, Leader of All Guidos
ghItlh 'o' : Yet another odd Okrandism, from PK:
"Eat everything or you will die without honor."
{Hoch DaSopbe'chugh batlh bIHeghbe'}
I guess {-be'} doesn't just negate verbs, then, but entire clauses.