tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Feb 08 13:48:10 2004

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Re: other person imperatives

...Paul ([email protected]) [KLI Member] 

On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 [email protected] wrote:
> > It appears that I stand corrected...
> > Thanks to everyone who responded. I had no idea that this construction
> > ("Let's go!") was, in fact, a "non-second-person imperative". I always
> > thought of it more as a {-jaj}-type of idea.
>
> And indeed it is a {-jaj}-type idea:
>
> This suffix is used to express a desire or wish on the part of the speaker that something take
> place in the future. (TKD 176 [Addendum 4.2.9])
>
> And that's exactly what the third-person imperative is: a desire on the
> part of the speaker that something happen...

Just thought I'd throw in here...  The English "let's" is a contraction
for "Let us".  So "Let's go!" is really "Let us go!" and it is actually
imperative, but the object of the verb "let" is inferred by context.

The Klingon version, if translated somewhat overly literally, would
probably be something like using /ghochaw'/ (Permit us!)

"Let's go!" might be something like /mamejmeH ghochaw'/  "Permit us, for
us to leave".

I've got a feeling Klingons wouldn't bother with such sundry requests for
permission.  I'd translate something like "Let's go!" to just /DaH mamej/
"We leave now."

See also www.dictionary.com for the definition of the English "let".

...Paul

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