tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jan 13 13:11:36 2004
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Re: "ser" and "estar" (to be)
chepqu' asks:
>Klingon pronoun-verbs used for "to be", as I have understood it, mean
>exactly the same as in English. ...Or, is there a difference? For example,
>in Spanish, there are two verbs that can be used as a Spanish translation
>of "to be"; "ser" and "estar". I'm not a Spanish grammarian but a native
>speaker, and I generally use "estar" with a temporary meaning while "ser"
>is permanent (can have different meanings than these ones). Is there any
>difference in Klingon too? or do they (the pronoun-verbs) mean exactly
>what "to be" means?
TKD p.67:
There is no verb corresponding to English "to be" in Klingon.
On the other hand, all pronouns (section 5.1) can be used as
verbs, in the sense of "I am", "you are", etc.
There is, however, a slight wrinkle when using pronouns to refer to
location: you have to say PRONOUN + {-taH} "continuous". E.g.:
So, to contrast with {jIH}:
tlhIngan jIH.
I am a Klingon.
vs.
naDev jIHtaH.
I am here.
Some more examples from canon:
pa'Daq jIHtaH
I'm in the room. TKD
pa'wIjDaq jIHtaH
I am in my quarters. TKD
pa'DajDaq ghaHtaH la''e'
The commander is in his quarters. TKD
jIHtaHbogh naDev vISovbe'
I'm lost. TKD
naDev bIHtaH
Here they are. PK
loS... qIb HeHDaq, 'u' SepmeyDaq Sovbe'lu'bogh lenglu'meH He
ghoSlu'bogh retlhDaq 'oHtaH.
It waits... on the edge of the galaxy, beside a passage to
unknown regions of the universe. DS99
pa' 'oHtaH vaS'a''e'. tlhIngan qum waw' 'oH.
This is where the Klingon Great Hall is located, the center
of the Klingon government. S27
Study the last example for the contrast between {'oHtaH} and {'oH}, both
referring to the same noun.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons