tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Feb 01 12:37:13 2010

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RE: Cataphoric pronouns

Steven Boozer ([email protected]) 

Andrà MÃller:
>        Today it's about cataphoric pronouns. That is when you use a 3rd
>person pronoun *before* you introduce the referrent as an overt noun phrase,
>e.g. "His own shadow started to scare John." Ãââ this is pretty seldom in
>German and English and sometimes sounds pretty weird if not rightout wrong
>in sentences like "He visited John's father.", where "he" and "John"
>refer to the same person.
>  [...]
>Now, when I construct Klingon sentences in writing, I sometimes start at
>the end of the sentence, add the subject, then the verb before it, then the
>direct object at the beginning and all the other stuff, usually because I
>can process SVO easier and because I often translate something from English
>or German. Then I sometimes come across sentences like this one:
>
>  {vavDaj Such wo'rIv.}
>   Worf visits his father.
>
>The subject is an overt noun phrase, while the direct object bears a
>pronominal possessive suffix. Thus, the pronominal suffix is used as a
>cataphora. My question now: is this usual in Klingon, do we have many of
>such phrases and do I not need to worry about sentence-internal
>information structure, or am I translating too literally here?
>Should it maybe be:
Considering its rigid Object-Verb-Subject syntax, using pronouns this way is quite normal in Klingon.  Here are the examples just for {-Daj} "his, her": 

  pa'DajDaq ghaHtaH la''e' 
  The commander is in his quarters. 
  (As for the commander, he is in his quarters.) TKD

  vaj toDDujDaj ngeHbej DIvI' 
  That means the Federation will be sending a rescue ship of its own. ST5

  DujDaj HubtaHvIS Hegh 'e' tul Hoch tlhIngan 
  To die defending his ship is the hope of every Klingon. TKW

  Qu'Daj ta'taHvIS Hegh 'e' tul Hoch tlhIngan 
  To die in the line of duty is the hope of every Klingon. TKW

  may'meyDajvo' Haw'be' tlhIngan 
  A Klingon does not run away from his battles. TKW

  qabDaj 'ang 
  He/she shows his/her face. KGT

  Hoch jaghpu'Daj HoHbogh SuvwI' yIvup 
  "Pity the warrior who slays all his foes." KGT

  HIchDaj yIQotlh! 
  Disable his/her handgun! KGT

  qatlh betleHDaj tlhapbe' 
  Why doesn't he take his bat'leth? KGT

  qorDu'Daj tuq 'oS Ha'quj'e' tuQbogh wo'rIv 
  The sash that Worf wears is a symbol of his family's house. S20

  nujDajDaq mar'egh ghu 
  the baby sucks its big toe (HQ 10.2)


Possessive pronouns can also be used non-cataphorically (?) however:

  reH tay' ghot tuqDaj je 
  One is always of his tribe. 
  ("A person and his house are always together.") TKW

  may'Daq jaHDI' SuvwI' juppu'Daj lonbe' 
  When a warrior goes to a battle, he does not abandon his friends. TKW

  quv Hutlh HoHbogh tlhIngan 'ach qabDaj 'angbe'bogh 
  A Klingon who kills without showing his face has no honor. TKW

  vangDI' tlhIngan SuvwI' ngoy' qorDu'Daj; vangDI' qorDu'Daj ngoy' 
   tlhIngan SuvwI' 
  The family of a Klingon warrior is responsible for his actions,
   and he is responsible for theirs. TKW

  SIQwI' lu'oy'moHmeH juppu'Daj 'oy'naQmey lo' chaH.  
  The Painstik is employed by friends of the recipient who use
   the devices to inflict pain [...] S32

  quv lughaj Archer HoD beqDaj je. 
  Captain Archer and his crew are honorable people. (ENT "The Augments")


>By the way, is there a way to disambiguate 3rd person pronominal possessive
>suffixes in the way of "his (i.e. someone else's)" vs. "his own" in Klingon?

You know, I've wondered about this myself.  AFAIK Okrand has never discussed the matter.  

I only found two examples where Okrand translated sentences containing "own":

  vaj toDDujDaj ngeHbej DIvI'.
  That means the Federation will be sending a rescue ship of its own. ST5

Emphasis is added with the Type-6 verb suffix {-bej} "certainly, undoubtedly, definitely"

  tlhIngan ngoQmey chavmeH HoH tlhInganpu'.
  Klingons kill for their own purposes.  TKW
  (lit. "Klingons kill [in order] to achieve Klingon purposes.")

Notice that instead of using a pronoun, he repeated the noun {tlhIngan}.  

Here's another example of repeating the noun for emphasis, this time when translating "mine" (a contraction of "my own"?):

  lenglIj lutebjaj lengwIjvaD bel rap, Sov rap, ngoQ rap je
   Danobpu'bogh 
  May your journey be filled with the same joy, wisdom, and
   purpose you have given mine. (Frasier)


 
-- 
Voragh                          
Canon Master of the Klingons

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