tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jun 25 20:40:46 1996
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Re: mu'tlheghmey nap
- From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
- Subject: Re: mu'tlheghmey nap
- Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 22:44:39 -0500
Amy writes:
>jIcheghpu'
"I have returned."
>cha' be'nI'pu' jIghaj
"I have[*] two sisters." You used the "no-object" verb prefix here;
it should instead be {vIghaj}.
>Julie je Molly bIH pongmeychaj'e'
"Their names are Julie and [*] Molly." Noun conjunctions such as {je}
come after the nouns being joined (TKD 5.3).
I'm not comfortable with the way this sentence is put together; it makes
sense when translated, but I have some conceptual problems with using a
pair of things as "the object" of a pronoun used as a "to be" verb.
This is strictly a matter of personal preference, but I also tend to use
pronoun-verbs to indicate something more like "categorization" than like
"equality". When identifying a name, I put the name itself as the subject,
and the word "name" as the object. "Julie and Molly are their names" does
not bother me the way the original sentence does.
>tlhaQqu' Julie
"Julie is very funny." maj.
>chuS jIlpu'wI'
"My neighbors are noisy." Do'Ha'.
>reH Seng chaH
"They always cause trouble." Do'Ha'qu'.
>loSlogh *The Mikado* vIleghpu'
"I have seen _The Mikado_ four times." maj. DatIvqu'law'.
>tlhaQqu' 'oH 'e' jIQub
"I think[*] that it is very funny." You need to use the verb prefix
{vI-} because {Qub} has an object. I'd have used {Har} "believe" here
instead of {Qub}, but I can't say for certain that {Qub} is wrong.
This is a very good way to practice. Using simple sentences and telling
your own thoughts is certainly better than trying to jump in and translate
Chaucer or Tolstoy. Memorizing Shakespeare in Klingon comes later... :-)
-- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj