tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Apr 10 14:52:03 2002
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: to' nech, 001: {Hal latlh yIyu', lI'mo' pagh lI'be'mo'}
From: "Steven Boozer" <[email protected]>
> Apposition in Klingon is a matter of some dispute among Klingonists. Some
> things that look like apposition - such as titles, ranks, and other
> identifying labels - may not be. For example, "Captain Kruge" is not,
> strictly speaking, apposition in English. I was taught years ago that the
> test of whether a noun is in apposition is whether each part can be used
> independently to form a complete, grammatically correct, sentence *as is*
> (i.e. without modification). E.g.:
>
> 1. Captain Kruge executed the prisoner.
>
> 1a. Kruge executed the prisoner.
> 1b. *Captain executed the prisoner.
Your test would appear to be invalid for Klingon. Klingon doesn't have
definite or indefinite articles, and that's the ONLY thing wrong with the
English above. /qama' muH HoD/ might mean "*THE* captain executed the
prisoner," or it could mean "HoD executed the prisoner," where "HoD" is some
guy's name. Klingon makes no distinction, English does. The test for
apposition is invalid in Klingon.
Apposition isn't so confusing if you use commas, or if you use the correct
tone of voice. I see no need (or justification) to legislate its use by
Klingonists.
SuStel
Stardate 2274.6