tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 20 09:48:45 2006

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Re: I should kill you where you stand

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



mIq'ey:
>   Intuitively I hear it as indicative, meaning something like "I have a 
> non-overriding moral obligation to ..."  That is, it's a weak form of "I 
> must" or "I need to" ("I have an overriding obligation to ...").
>   This is one of the reasons why I doubt that the ST5 example is relevant 
> to the case at hand.  Another is that I'm not convinced that this example 
> really exhibits "the semantics of the subjunctive mood".  I don't 
> remember the situation in which these lines are spoken, but abstractly 
> they could just as easily be translated in the indicative:  "If I can 
> defeat Kirk... / You will be the greatest warrior in the galaxy."
>   And, when it comes right down to it, I just think that "I kill you" and 
> "I should kill you" are different enough in meaning that they wouldn't be 
> expressed by exactly the same form in any language, regardless of its 
> modal repertoire.
>   Another thought has occurred to me.  If "I should" is really an 
> attenuated "I must", how about {qaHoHnISlaw'} ("It seems I must kill you")?

FYI here is {-nIS} "need, needs to, must" (V2: volition/predisposition) in 
canon:

vIchennISmoH
I need to create it. (st.klingon 11/97)

vIleghnIS
I need to see him/her. TKD

bISopnIS
You need to eat. TKD

De''e' vItlhapnISpu'
I needed to get the INFORMATION.
It was the information (and not something else) I needed. TKD

lupwI' DalIghnIS
You must ride the jitney. CK

tIqlIj Da'angnIS
You must show your heart. PK/TKW

DaH jIbwIj vISay'nISmoH
I must wash my hair now. PK

DungDaq legh 'ej QotnIStaH romuluSngan be'pu'
Romulan women belong on their backs! (ST5 notes)

DIHIvlaHtaHvIS DaH DIHIvnIS
Attack them now, while we still can! ST6

poSDaq nIHDaq je QamtaHvIS SuvwI'pu', chaH jojDaq yItnIS lopwI'
The initiate must pass through a gauntlet of warriors. S9

mataHmeH maSachnIS
To survive, we must expand. TKW

pIpyuS pach DaSop DaneHchugh pIpyuS puS DaghornIS
If you want to eat pipius claw, you'll have to break a few pipiuses. TKW

bISutlhnISchugh jaghlI' mInDu' tIbej
If you must negotiate, watch your enemy's eyes. TKW

nIteb SuvnIS DevwI'
A leader must stand alone ("A leader must fight alone"). TKW

ghob tIvnISbe'lu'
One need not enjoy virtue. TKW
["The Klingon construction {tIvnISbe'} means 'does not need to enjoy'; 
{tIvbe'nIS} would mean 'needs to not enjoy', an utterly different concept." 
TKW 48]

bIQapqu'meH tar DaSop 'e' DatIvnIS
To really succeed, you must enjoy eating poison. TKW

tIqwIj Sa'angnIS
I must show you my heart. TKW

yInlu'taH 'e' bajnISlu'
Survival must be earned. TKW

yay chavlu' 'e' bajnISlu'
Victory must be earned. TKW

batlh Heghlu'chugh noDnISbe' vay'
An honorable death requires no vengeance. TKW

qachuHnIS'a'
Must I hurl a spear at you?
(slang: "Do I have to clarify it for you?") KGT

qaleghnIS
I need to see you. KGT

jaghpu' mo' wIyajnIS
We must understand the enemies' motive. (slang) KGT

pujnISmoH
he/she needs to weaken [somebody] (st.klingon 11/97)

Qochbe'nIS
he/she/they need to not disagree (i.e. he/she/they need to 
agree)(st.klingon 11/97)

QochnISbe'
he/she/they do not need to disagree (st.klingon 11/97)




--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons






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