tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Mar 25 12:31:43 2008
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Klingon WOTD: nIHwI' (noun)
Voragh:
> > DanIH
> > You steal it. KLS
lay'tel SIvten:
>The English translation sounds like an imperative with an emphatic subject.
We must speak different dialects. To me it sounds like a perfectly kosher,
if somewhat odd, declarative sentence. "Steal it!" would be the expected
(direct?) imperative. "You'll steal it" might be understood as a sort of
"indirect" (?) or suggested imperative: e.g. "No! *You'll* steal the cash;
*I'll* wait outside."
>Is there a context that goes with this phrase?
Nope. IIRC the KLS page featured a list of simple conjugated verbs with
the translations read aloud by Okrand in an accompanying sound file. I
pointed out the object only because Okrand might have translated {DanIH} as
"you steal him/her/them", but he opted for "you steal it"
instead. Significant? Perhaps.
Doq:
>>You steal stuff when you rob people. You don't steal people (except in
>>kidnapping when the people are being treated like property) or rob
>>stuff. You can steal stuff without robbing anybody. Robbery implies a
>>degree of personal contact; stealing through physical intimidation or
>>incapacitation.
And there's also {quch} "kidnap" - and even {jon} "capture" - to throw into
the mix.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons