tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Apr 27 06:25:13 1995
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law'-puS in reverse?
- From: Alan Anderson <[email protected]>
- Subject: law'-puS in reverse?
- Date: Thu, 27 Apr 95 08:23:19 EST
jatlh yoDtargh:
>It seems we have a way to say "X is more something than Y", but we don't
>have a way to say "X is less something than Y".
Nor do we need one. We're interpreting the phrase which translates as
"your many skill, my few skill" to mean "you are more skilled than I am"
but it could just as easily be interpreted "I am less skilled than you are."
Must we infer a difference in meaning between these interpretations? I
don't see one. What reason would you give for needing different meanings?
Do you want to indicate that A is better because "A is less Q than B"?
Say "B is Q-er than A," then say "A is better."
The law'-puS comparison phrase IS a completely irregular construction,
perhaps because it involves a concept otherwise nearly missing from the
Klingon language: existence without action. It states a fact about the
relative strength of two nouns' states, but does not call attention to one
noun over the other. A possible exception: "A is Q-er than all" does
tend to emphasize A; "all is Q-er than B" is not given as an example, but
it seems to be (dare I suggest it?) a reasonable extrapolation, and would
emphasize B.
-- ghunchu'wI