tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Feb 25 12:41:04 2004

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[tlhIngan-Hol] Re: «law'qu'» rur «'Iq». «puSqu'» rur nuq?

Steven Boozer ([email protected]) [KLI Member] 

Voragh:
> >In light of this, I think {puSqu'} "be very few" is as close as we can get
> >to "too few, less than there should be" for the time being... unless you

Quvar:
>closer: tlhoy puS

Hmm... At first glance this seems obvious, but on further thought, I don't 
think this works.  If it did, he would have used *{tlhoy law'} instead of 
creating the quality {'Iq} "be too many, be too much".

Here is what he had to say about {tlhoy} in HolQeD 8.3:

   It is used in such sentences as
     tlhoy jISop
      I eat too much, I eat excessively
     tlhoy bIQong
      you sleep too much, you sleep excessively
   When {tlhoy} is used, it denotes that the action expressed by the
   verb is what is being overly done or done too much. Thus the
   sentence:
     tlhoy qagh vISop
      I eat too much gagh, I eat gagh excessively, I overeat gagh
   expresses the notion that the eating is excessive, not that the
   amount of gagh is. [...] Similarly,
     tlhoy yIHmey vIlegh
      I see too many tribbles
   means "I overly see tribbles" (perhaps this could be used if one
   meant something like "I see tribbles far too frequently and in
   far too many places"). To express the idea of "too much gagh" or
   "too many tribbles," the verb {'Iq} "be too many, be too much" is
   used adjectivally. For example:
     yIHmey 'Iq vIlegh
      I see too many tribbles
     qagh 'Iq vISop
      I eat too much gagh
   Sometimes, the word {law'qu'} "be very many" ... is translated
   "be too many." If the context is clear, this is acceptable, but if
   it important to stress the idea of "overly many, overly much, more
   than there ought to be," {tlhoy} or {'Iq} is usually employed.)

Here's another example from the same article:

   tlhoy Sop 'ach ghIq Qongchu'
   He/she eats too much, but then he/she sleeps soundly.


Re-read his sentence:  "When {tlhoy} is used, it denotes that the ACTION 
expressed by the
verb is what is being overly DONE or done too much" (emphasis added).

This implies that {tlhoy} is used with *action* verbs, not stative verbs 
(qualities).  All of his examples have action verbs:  {Sop} "eat", {Qong} 
"sleep}, {legh} "see".  ("Sleep" is an action; it's something you do, not 
something you are.)  Since {puS} "be few" is not an action nor is it 
something that can be "done", I don't think you can Quvar's suggestion works.



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons

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