tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Oct 10 20:34:38 1996

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Re: my first Klingon phrase

DloraH writes:
>(no KLBC in subject)

Pay attention, people.  The rule is that BEGINNERS' QUESTIONS are to be
answered by the Beginners' Grammarian.  The lack of a "KLBC" flag isn't
relevant; beginners often don't know about it.  How do we know this was
from a beginner?  Read the subject line -- it says *first* phrase!

>>"I'm happy to see you!!"
>>
>>Is this right? "vIleghmeH Quch jIH"

The short answer: no, for several reasons.
1 - "I see you" should have the verb prefix {qa-} to indicate "I" as
    the subject and "you" as the object.  If you are talking to more
    than one person, the prefix should be {Sa-}.  English does not
    distinguish between singular and plural "you", but Klingon does.
2 - As DloraH correctly noted, the suffix {-meH} is not appropriate.
    Think about the idea being expressed; Why am I happy?  *Because*
    I see you.  The verb suffix {-mo'} has the right meaning here.
3 - "I am happy" should have a verb prefix to indicate first person
    subject and no object: {jI-}.  The use of that prefix makes {jIH}
    redundant; including it emphasizes that it is ME who is happy,
    and not someone else.

[DloraH's terse explanation deleted]

>       "qaleghmo' Quch jIH"

That's not quite correct either.
(I read it as "I am a forehead because I see you." :-P)

This sort of thing is the reason why we are asked to wait for the BG to
respond.  If anyone can give answers, the quality of the answers varies
widely.  Different folks might come up with contradictory suggestions.
Or, as in this case, someone might give a *wrong* answer.

Here is what I believe is the correct answer:

{qaleghmo' jIQuch} "Because I see you, I am happy."

-- ghunchu'wI'

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