tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Oct 10 09:04:00 1996

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Re: DI'vI' Hol

I wrote:
>  TKD's translation of {vInejqa'} says "I am resuming the search, I am
>  searching for him/her again" -- it looks like {-qa'} handles both of them.

SuStel writes:
> I don't like this example, because "searching" isn't something which you do
> instantaneously.  It requires a period of time, whether short or long, and
> I'm wondering if {-qa'} is referring to an action which requires a change of
> state.

{-choH} certainly carries the "change of state" meaning; that's its 
canonical definition.  If by analogy you consider that {-qa'} implies 
a change of state, then "resume" is the appropriate interpretation. 
But TKD consistently gives both "resume" and "do again" as proper ways
to translate it.

When I cited TKD above, I almost commented on the "continuous" aspect
implied by the word "searching", but I decided it wasn't really all 
that important.  The lack of a Type 7 aspect suffix says nothing about
the aspect.  It doesn't imply a one-time non-continuous action; it
doesn't imply a lack of a goal; it doesn't imply that the action is
not complete.  It merely does not address the issue.  "I am searching"
is a perfectly reasonable translation of {jInej}.

But this digression does point to a way to make the intended meaning a
bit less ambiguous.  If you really mean that an activity resumes, then
the suffix {-taH} can help to imply that idea.

-- ghunchu'wI'

o/~ "SamuSHa', tumuSHa', qorDu' Quch wIchenmoHta'..." o/~

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