tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jun 05 12:08:22 1996
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Re: Re[3]: KLI Fonts/Now RE: Japanese "ka"
- From: "Ben Warren" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Re[3]: KLI Fonts/Now RE: Japanese "ka"
- Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 12:06:44 -0700
> Is this so? In my limited knowledge of Japanese, I know that "What is
> it/that/etc?" translates to "nan deska?"--clearly not a yes/no question.
> - From what I understand, Japanese "ka" *is* a spoken question mark,
added to
> *all* questions, not just yes/no questions, as opposed to Klingon -'a'
or
> Esperanto cxu, which are yes/no markers.
>
> Or am I mistaken?
>
> ~mark
No, you are not mistaken!
In Japanese, questions are formed by adding "ka."
Example:
What is this? / Kore wa nan desu ka?
An even clearer example is as follows:
Do you understand? / Wakarimasu ka?
I understand / Wakarimasu.
The only thing that makes "Wakarimasu" (understand) a question is the
addition of "ka." In printed Japanese, sometimes a "?" is added after
"ka," sometimes it is left off. It is really up to the writer's
discretion.
Qapla'