tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Apr 25 19:38:38 1998
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Re: -taHbe' v -be'taH
SuStel jang charghwI':
>> Since something like {-Qo'} must, by necessity, negate the whole word, it is
>> not inconceivable that {-be'} could do that too.
>
>Of course, the only way to make that assumption is to ignore
>everything Okrand says about {-be'} modifying the preceding
>syllable, right there in TKD...
TKD Section 4.3. "Rovers" (page 46):
{-be'} "not"
This is the general suffix of negation, translated as English
/not/. It follows the concept being negated.
It doesn't say "syllable". It doesn't say "verb or suffix". It says
"concept". The examples given on that page all apply it to a single
morpheme, but other examples make sense to me if the idea of "concept"
is treated a little less restrictively. {batlh bIHeghbe} "You will not
die with honor" is a very powerful example; the "not" is being applied
to more than a single word.
How about {tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhlaHbe'}? It sure looks to me like that's
a simple negation of the entire phrase {tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhlaH}.
-- ghunchu'wI'