tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Oct 12 02:51:20 2011

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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Negative polarity questions in Klingon

Philip Newton ([email protected])

• From: Philip Newton <[email protected]>
• Subject: Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Negative polarity questions in Klingon
• Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:50:35 +0200
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On Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 16:37, ghunchu'wI' 'utlh <[email protected]> wrote:
> That's exactly how I would
> respond in Klingon to what you've labeled as a negative polarity
> question.
>
> Q: chopbe''a'?
> A: chop.

That's a method that hadn't occurred to me when I asked the question,
but I agree that it's very useful.

I think I'd call this the Irish method :) Since as I understand it,
Irish (like Latin and some other languages) doesn't use "yes" or "no"
but either something like "it is (not) so" (à la {qar}) or - perhaps
more commonly - repeat the main verb as a response. This, apparently,
also characteristically affects Hiberno-English, even in speakers who
have no Irish themselves.

It's almost certainly the clearest alternative.
- Hide quoted text -

Cheers,
Philip
--
Philip Newton <[email protected]>

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• References:
  • [Tlhingan-hol] Negative polarity questions in Klingon
    • From: Philip Newton <[email protected]>
  • Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Negative polarity questions in Klingon
    • From: "ghunchu'wI' 'utlh" <[email protected]>

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