tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Oct 10 14:39:05 2008

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

RE: Relative clause fun

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



Holtej:
>> Here are some example cases:
>> (A) Indirect Object
>>
>>    loDvaD tev lunobbogh chaH ghaH [John]'e'
>>    John is the man who they gave the prize to

Doq:
> John is the prize they gave to the man. ("Everybody ought to have a
> maid...")
> John is the "they" who gave the man a prize. (He's the only member of
> a secret society who gave the prize?)
>
> Or maybe you should just say:
>    JohnvaD tev lunob.

"They gave the prize to John."

Hmm... I can't figure out a way to do this with a relative clause either, but to add at least some of the flavor of the original, you could "front" the name before the main clause:

  JOHN'e' ghaHvaD tev lunob.
  As for John, they gave the prize to him.
  As for John, they gave him the prize.

which is not to say that you couldn't also translate this into colloquial English as "John is the man to whom they gave the prize" or even as "John is the man they gave the prize to".


--
Voragh
Canon Master of the Klingons





Back to archive top level