tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jul 01 14:12:56 1999
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Re: terminate / finish / end
Edy wrote:
: (Which verb is more appropriate):
:
: SochmaH vagh 'ay' Quj vIbaq
: SochmaH vagh 'ay' Quj vIrInmoH
: SochmaH vagh 'ay' Quj vIchu'Ha'
: SochmaH vagh 'ay' Quj vItaHHa'
:
: I'm hosting a game and I'll finish it on turn 75.
I would say {Quj vIbaq} "I terminate/discontinue the game" if I were
stopping a
game in progress, without necessarily finishing it - say, one interrupted
by an
enemy attack. We also have a quote in KGT, though, which implies a sudden or
abrupt completion (termination):
yIbaq!
Terminate it! (i.e. a duel)
Presumably this an exhortation to one of the duelists to stop shilly-shallying
and put an end to a duel and kill his/her opponent quickly. You could also
say
more dramatically:
Quj vIbaQ rIntaH!
See the discussion in TKD (pl41) in {rIntah} "It is accomplished! It is
done!":
The meaning of {-ta'} can also be indicated syntactically. That is,
instead of using the suffix {-ta'}, a special verbal construction can
follow the verb which indicates the accomplished action. This special
verb is {rIn} "be finished, accomplished", and in this usage it always
takes the suffix {-taH} "continuous" ... and the third-person pronominal
prefix (0). The resulting construction, {rIntaH}, literally means "it
continues to be finished" or "it remains accomplished". It is used to
indicate that the action denoted by the preceding verb is a fait accompli:
it is done, and it cannot be undone. {luHoH rIntaH} "they have killed
him/her", {vIje' rIntaH} "I have purchased it". The English translations
of {rIntaH} and {-ta'} are usually the same. The notion of absolute
finality implied by {rIntaH} seldom comes across. It should be noted that
{rIntaH} is sometimes used for dramatic effect even in cases when the
action could be undone.
I rather like *{rInmoH} even though Okrand has never used it, but he has used
{ta'} "accomplish, do" in a very similar context in KGT (p. 177):
'oy'naQ DaQeqDI' mIw wa'DIch Data', 'ach 'oy'naQ Dachu'DI' mIw
paghDIch Data'
When you aim the painstik, you accomplish the first step, but
when you turn the painstik on, you accomplish the zeroth step.
'oy'naQ Dachu'Ha'DI' mIw HochDIch Data'
When you turn the painstik off, you accomplish the last step.
Notice that Okrand also uses {mIw} "procedure, process, step, stage (in a
process)", which is pretty darn close to a "turn" in a game.
Quj mIw SochmaH vaghDIch vIta'
Of course, you could omit {Quj} in a gaming context, where it would be
obvious. With a bit more flair, this becomes:
toH! mIw SochmaH vaghDIch vIta'. pItlh!
So in sum, I guess I prefer {mIw vIta'} and {Quj vIbaq}. No doubt you will
hear other opinions. {{;-)
jabbI'ID pItlh. (End transmission.)
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons