tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Oct 01 12:43:39 1998
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RE: BG: a question with -moH
- From: "Andeen, Eric" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: BG: a question with -moH
- Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1998 12:39:51 -0700
lab Lawrence:
>
> I was just wondering how to say something like "you made me
> say it again."
>
> My first attempt was: chojatlhqa'moH
lughchu'
> I think that's right, but looking at it made me then wonder
> how to say something like "you again made me say it." My first
> reaction was to want to flip the order of -qa' and -moH but of
> course you can't do that. Much as I want to turn -qa' into a
> Rover it's not going to happen.
No, but -moH might just turn into a rover one of these days. Marc posted
a rather ... interesting comment about -moH in the startrek.klingon
newsgroup a while back. I will see if I can dig it up when I get home
(where I have newsgroup access).
> I guess my question is, is my first statement above
> ambiguous, containing *both* meanings? If so, which
> parsing would you come up with at first glance, that
> you're making me do the action (which I've done before),
> or that you're making me do the action (which you've
> made me do before)?
Look at your English - that is ambiguous as well. In both languages, I
am sure the speaking has happened before and is happening again, but I
am not sure of the comulsion. I am also not sure it is important.
The question here is not which meaning people will get, or even if they
will recognize the difference at all. The question is whether the
distinction is important. If it's not, don't worry about it. If it is,
context will usually help, and you can drag it out all you want:
wa'Hu' jIjatlh. jIjatlhmeH jISap. muraD pagh. jIjatlh vIneHqu'. batlh
jIjatlhmo' jIQuch.
DaHjaj jIjatlhqa'. jIjatlh vIneHbe'. mujatlhmoH pInwI' QIp. jIjatlhmeH
vIraDlu' 'e' vImuS jay'.
When I first saw <chojatlhqa'moH>, I understood it as ...
<chojatlhqa'moH>. I didn't think about the difference between the two
possible interpretations.
pagh
Beginners' Grammarian