tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Aug 08 23:23:19 1999
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Re: Aspect (was RE: KLBC-Fr.)
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: Re: Aspect (was RE: KLBC-Fr.)
- Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 02:22:08 EDT
In a message dated 8/3/1999 1:08:08 PM US Mountain Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
<< It sounds like (hai mei-you) is some kind of verb then? {wej} is
not. Instead, it is an adverbial in the same way that {DaH},
{qen} and {tugh} are adverbials. >>
===========
{hai} is an adverbial equivalent to {wej} in its grammar position and
translatable as "still, yet." {mei-you} is a verb meaning "has not." To
express "not yet," both parts of the formula are necessary. Important here
is that I still have a lot to learn about how Klingon adverbials establish
the aspect, due to my understanding of aspect established in Chinese by how
the speaker views the event, not merely by positing an adverbial. In the
case of "not yet," {hai mei-you} virtually always is imperfective. So, when
people tell me that Klingon's {wej} establishes a perfective, I have a lot of
re-learning to do to catch up with those people.
peHruS