tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Nov 20 20:18:11 2007
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Re: nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e'?
ghunchu'wI':
> >The pattern I saw at first was this: {-taH} accompanies the pronoun-
> >as-to-be when the sentence is describing a situation that could
> >change without notice: {pa'DajDaq ghaHtaH la''e'} "The commander is
> >in his quarters." It's an ongoing but mutable state. The suffix is
> >absent when the situation is more permanent: {puqpu' chaH
> >qama'pu''e'} "The prisoners are children."
Voragh:
> > I would have said their status is temporary: they weren't and
> > won't always be prisoners.
ghuncu'wI':
>That would be a valid point if the sentence were the other way
>around: {qama'pu' chaH[taH] puqpu''e'} "The children are prisoners."
>As it is, though, it's referring not to the state of being a prisoner
>but the state of being a child. (Yes, children mature, but that's
>not under the control of the jailer.)
No; but whether they continue to live is. <g>
In any event, I found a pair of contrasting prisoner sentences:
tera'ngan ghaH qama''e'
The prisoner is a Terran. KGT
Permanent state: the prisoner will always be a Terran (species).
bIghHa'Daq ghaHtaH qama''e'
The prisoner is in the prison. KGT
(Temporary) location: the prisoner is (currently) in the prison.
But again, as we've both remarked, the spoiler is:
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
I think I've found all of the other examples:
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
qIrq. DujHomDaq ghaHtaH.
Kirk. He's on the shuttlecraft! ST5
bIQ'a'Daq 'oHtaH 'etlh'e'
The sword is in the ocean. KGT
meyrI'Daq 'oHtaH gho'e'
The circle is in the square. [qep'a' 2005]
There are five counter-examples without {?taH}, all beginning with {nuqDaq}:
nuqDaq 'oH Qe' QaQ'e'
Where is a good restaurant? TKD
nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e'
Where is the bathroom? TKD
nuqDaq 'oH jengva''e'
Where is the plate? KGT
nuqDaq 'oH ngop'e'
Where are the plates? KGT
nuqDaq bIH
[Where are they?] ST6
The way I read this is that pronoun-as-verb statements of location require
{-taH} on the pronoun, but questions of location (i.e. those with {nuqDaq}
"where?}) do not. Whether the location is temporary or permanent seems to
be irrelevant. (Note the restaurant example from TKD as well as the Great
Hall examples from S27.)
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons