tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Feb 23 09:04:07 1998
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KLBC:Re: tlhutlh
William H. Martin wrote:
>
> The beginner's grammarian, Qov, should answer this, since you
> say you are a beginner, but since you didn't put "KLBC" in your
> subject header, Qov may miss this one, so I'll step in (and she
> can deal with me later if I have transgressed). Anyway, if she
> also answers, listen to her. She's the BG after all...
>
> I'm a former BG, hence my willingness (and limited license) to
> do this.
Thanks for your effort, it has been a great help to me.
>
> On Sat, 21 Feb 1998 14:24:38 -0800 (PST) Engelbert
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > A few days ago, I went out for a drink with a friend of mine. The thing
> > ended up with a hangover the next day, so I decided: "Too much drinking
> > isnŽt good for me." I tried to translate this idea in Klingon and came
> > upon {jIHvad QaQbeŽ tlhutlh}. Not satisfactory however, since it doesnŽt
> > express the notion "too much", and beside of that, I am using a verb
> > {tlhutlh} as a subject, and as far as I know, a subject is always a
> > noun. I wonder if it it possible to "nounify" a verb in Klingon as it is
> > in English.
>
> There are ways to do this, but generally, if you find yourself
> wanting to nounify a verb, you should stop and reconsider the
> grammatical means you are using to express this thought.
>
> Consider your thought. You have drunk too much and you have a
> hangover. Klingon doesn't have a noun for "hangover", but it
> does have a verb for "have a headache", which is a major element
> of a hangover, right? So, how might you say, "When I have drunk
> a lot, I get a headache."
>
> And before you reach for {tlhutlh}, consider that the headache
> does not really come from drinking. It comes from inebriation.
> You can drink water and not get a headache. There's another verb
> meaning "be drunk".
>
> Another way you might cast this is to say something like, "When
> I have been very drunk and I have a headache, I do not enjoy the
> situation, thus, I do not want to be drunk." It might be easier
> to think of that last phrase as, "I do not want that I become
> drunk." It's a bit of a challenge, but this long sentence is
> made of simple parts. It would be a good exercise for you.
I think I got the point.
Considering that there is a word for "hangover" (as ghunchuŽwIŽ pointed
out), I came to:
jIcheghpuŽDIŽ jIŽuHchoH. ghuŽ vItIvbeŽ vaj jIchechchoH vIneHbeŽ.
I feel like shortening this to:
jIŽuH vItIvbeŽ vaj jIcheghchoH vIneHbeŽ.
IŽd like to know if these sentences are correct.
--QomwIŽ