tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Feb 28 12:35:57 1998
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Re: KLBC: question types
- From: Qov <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: KLBC: question types
- Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 12:34:12 -0800
At 16:26 98-02-27 -0800, HovqIj wrote:
}TKD says there are two types of questions:
}a) yes/no-questions: the verb suffix {-'a'} is required, e. g. {yaS
}qIp'a'}
}b) questions with a special interrogative: no {-'a'} required, e. g.
}{qatlh yaS qIp}
Right. English allows us to form yes/no questions with inversion ("You are
a Klingon." vs. "Are you a Klingon?") and mere intonation ("You are a
Klingon?"). Klingon requires that {-'a'} suffix.
}This is clear, but how about questions like:
}"Did he hit the officer or the child?"
}This is neither a yes/no-question nor does it have an interrogative. So,
}do I need the {-'a'}?
}{yaS puq ghap qIp}
}I don't like the first one. It's not clear that it is a question.
Exactly. It's a statement, not a question.
}{yaS puq ghap qIp'a'}
Have you ever asked a smart alecky computer programmer a question with an
"or" in it? Ask my loDnal "Is your mother coming on Wednesday or Thursday?"
and assuming that at least one of "mother coming on Wednesday" and "mother
coming on Thursday" is a true statement, he'll answer "yes." I'm pretty
sure that in Klingon the answer {HIja'} to {yaS puq ghap qIp'a'} would be
the expected, not smart-alecky answer.
}Maybe {yaS puq ghap qIp. 'Iv qIp?} - "He hit the officer or the child.
}Whom did he hit?" would be better.
majQa'. pup. I couldn't have recast it better myself.
}How can I say it the best way?
I think you just did. Klingon doesn't have a "which." You do have to
recast for this.
Qov [email protected]
Beginners' Grammarian