tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 20 14:56:48 2006
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Dilbert Comic in Klingon for November 1
pm5:
> >> I was asking should one say
> >> {DaQaH 'e' tlhob} "they ask that you help them"
Voragh:
> > With {'e'} you need the object prefix: {'e' lutlhob} "they ask that".
ghunchu'wI':
>I think the plural "they" is an artifact of the English. The subject
>is a singular {malja' ghom} or {'ay'} or whatever gets used for
>"marketing department".
Although I was reminding pm5 to make sure the prefix agrees with the {'e'},
ghunchu'wI' is absolutely right to point out that collective nouns
referring to groups of people - e.g. family, High Council, the Federation,
army - are grammatically singular in Klingon regardless of the English
translation.
DaQaH 'e' lutlhob (vumwI'pu')
they (the workers) ask that you help them
DaQaH 'e' tlhob malja' ghom
the marketing department asks that you help them/it
pm5: note BTW that you use the same object prefix on {QaH} for both.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons