tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Sep 23 08:38:55 1998
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RE: KLBC: qID vIHoH
- From: Steven Boozer <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: KLBC: qID vIHoH
- Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 10:36:33 -0500 (CDT)
: lab HovqIj:
:
: > HeDaq chechwI' ghom *vampire* loD be' je.
:
: Consider <'Iw tlhutlhwI'> for vampire. It's even a palindrome.
:
: Also, I think you need to put the "vampire" before the <be'> as well. In
: English, you can say "a vampire man and woman", but I think the Klingon
: can only mean "a vampire, a man, and a woman".
:
: pagh
Perhaps. We do have canon for this type of listing apposition:
DuraS tuq tlhIngan yejquv patlh luDub 'e' reH lunIDtaH DuraS be'nI'pu'
lurSa' be'etor je.
The sisters of the House of Duras, Lursa and B'Etor, are constantly
seeking a higher standing for the House of Duras within the Klingon
High Council. (SkyBox S26 )
This can also be translated as "the Duras sisters, [plus] Lursa, and B'Etor"
(i.e. at least four people). Context makes it clear--after all, everyone
knows the infamous Duras sisters! Note that Okrand did not say *<DuraS
be'nI' lurSa' DuraS be'nI' be'etor je>.
Punctuation helps:
HeDaq chechwI' lughom 'Iw tlhutlhwI'pu', loD be' je.
HeDaq chechwI' lughom 'Iw tlhutlhwI'pu'--loD be' je.
HeDaq chechwI' lughom 'Iw tlhutlhwI'pu' (loD be' je).
Since <lu-> implies a plural subject, you can even leave off the plural
suffix altogether:
HeDaq chechwI' lughom 'Iw tlhutlhwI', loD be' je.
This last version does expect the reader to be paying attention, though.
But then, what writer wants to waste his time writing for the careless and
inattentive? If you want to say "a vampire, a man, and a woman" (i.e. three
people), I think you would simply drop the comma:
HeDaq chechwI' lughom 'Iw tlhutlhwI' loD be' je.
Admittedly, this is a fine distinction and we need more examples of Okrand's
use of punctuation in long, complex sentences. Studying all of the SkyBox
texts together should prove instructive. In speech, the difference is
signified by intonation and the length of the pause after <'Iw tlhutlhwI'>
which is, after all, what good punctuation is.
--
Voragh "Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons lis est." Horace (Ars Poetica)