tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Aug 26 19:18:31 1996

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Re: KLBC



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>Date: Sun, 25 Aug 1996 11:23:49 -0700
>From: [email protected] (HoD trI'Qal)

>At 01:52 PM 8/23/96 -0700, Laurel Beckley wrote:
>>I have written a story in tlhIngan Hol.  I read it to SuStel, and he
>>suggested I should post it here.  English translation will follow.  Here
>>it is.

>Okay, let's take a look. {{:)

>>betleHDaj tlhap 'ej tIrDaj pe'lI'.

>While this is grammatically correct, I think you would do better to explain
>the concept of using his betleH to cut the grain as "He uses his betleH in
>order to cut his grain."  It might "flow" a bit better:

>   tIrDaq pe'meH, betleHDaj lo'lI'.

I have no problem with "betleHDaq tlhap..."; I think the implication is as
clear as it needs to be (the causality isn't that critical anyway).  But I
would use "pe'choH" here: he started cutting his grain.

>>ghaH SuvwI.


>You are missing a ' on SuvwI'.  I suspect that was a typo.  <ghaH> is a
>pronoun meaning "him/her (speech capable)."  I think you mis-memorized
><ghoS>, which would mean "approach":

>   ghoS SuvwI'

Or chol?

>>>SoH SuvlaHbe'chu'. tIr pe' neH betleHlIj.< jatlh SuvwI'.

>If "you" is the subject of <Suv>, why is <SoH> at the end of the sentence?
>{{:)  You also need a verb prefix to match your subject, in this case it
>would be bI-.  I'm not sure if <neH> should go after <pe'> here.  The way
>you have it, it sounds like "You betleH is merely cutting the grain (as
>opposed to cutting it in two, or chopping it into bits)."  If you mean "Your
>betleH is cutting mere grain", then the <neH> should go after <tIr>.

I agree as to the placement of "neH", but when neH follows a noun, it means
"only", not "merely."

>>tIrDaj pe'lI'.

>-taH might be better here than -lI'.  -lI' implies that he is going to stop
>sometime soon.  -taH implies that it is an on-going process, and it might
>add a bit more "flavour" to your story at this point.  It might add more if
>you replace it where it appears a few lines up as well.

jIQochbe'.


>>nom Suv.
>>tugh Heghpu' SuvwI'.


>This is actually "Soon the warrior dies."

Actually, "soon, the warrior has died."

>If you want to say "Soon the warrior is dead" then you use either -pu' or
>-ta'... and this is a case where you would.  If you don't understand this,
>please ask... aspect is weird, when you are used to tense... I'm still
>getting used to it!

Er, she DID use -pu'.  And it would work okay without too, I think.

>>tIrDaj pe'lI' wIjwI'.

>Again, -taH might be better here... that depends on the impression you want
>to make with your story.

Better still: pe'qa'.  He went back to cutting his grain.  That's the
*real* use of -qa'.

~mark

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