tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Oct 11 15:55:27 1996

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Re: {-qa'} (was Re: DI'vI' Hol)



96-10-11 13:58:40 EDT, jatlh ghunchu'wI':

> >However, I don't say that {-qa'} implies a change of state by analogy with
>  >{-choH}; TKD itself says that!  4.2.3, Type 3: Change.  "Suffixes of this
>  >type indicate that the action described by the verb involves a change of 
> some
>  >kind from the state of affairs that existed before the action took
place."
>  
>  HIvqa' veqlargh.  TKD indeed makes this pronouncement.

Haa haa haa hee hee ho ho haaa!!!  (Imagine a huge Klingon belly-laugh here.)

Of course!!!  There's an example of what is probably a
non-change-of-state-of-affairs: {HIvqa' veqlargh}!  (And I bet you didn't
even realize that when you wrote it!  :)

Actually, I've mentioned this problem once before: could it possibly mean
that the Fek'lhr has "resumed" attacking again?  It's possible.  Otherwise, I
can see two possibilities here: (1) Okrand, using his dictionary or his notes
(you *know* he does this), sees that {-qa'} means "again," and makes the same
mistake that everyone else has; or (2) Okrand really intended the "do again"
meaning.  (I guess I just don't want to give up on this.  :)

>  If we *have* been misusing the verb suffix {-qa'}, we've been doing it
>  for a very long time.  I suspect it might be extremely difficult to
>  change the communal habit of rendering "Say again?" as {yIja'qa'}.

Do'Ha'.

SuStel
Stardate 96780.1


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