Re: lutlh Hol ngu'meH mIw

[MorphemeAddict@wmconnect.com]

In a message dated 3/1/2007 4:17:43 PM Central Standard Time, 
sboozer@uchicago.edu writes:

> >DIvI' Hol lujatlhlaHbogh tlhInganpu''e' law' law' tlhIngan Hol
> >jatlhlaHbogh tera'nganpu''e' law' puS.
> 
> "Federation Standard-speaking Klingons are more (numerous) than 
> Klingon-speaking Terrans."
> 
> or more colloquially:
> 
> "There are more Federation Standard-speaking Klingons than Klingon-speaking 
> Terrans."
> 
> Why have you tagged both {tera'nganpu'} and {tlhInganpu'} with 
> {-'e'}?  That defeats the whole purpose of a topic/focus marker.  If both 
> are topics, neither is the topic.  

In both cases it marks the head noun of the {-bogh} phrase, a secondary use 
of {-'e'} related to its primary uses as topic/focus marker.

(You've also forgotten to repeat {lu-} 

> on the second {jatlhlaHbogh}; both subjects are plural.)
> 
That's what I thought, too, at first, until I realized that this way implies 
the plurality of Klingon languages, including dialects.  We still know very 
little about the linguistic status of the entire Klingon empire.

lay'tel SIvten