tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jun 24 09:48:38 2014
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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Question on Klingon Negation
From: Chelsea Knauf [mailto:[email protected]]
> Newbie here with a question about negation in Klingon. Does Klingon double negate?
> For example, would "I don't hear anything" (in response to something like "Did you
> hear that?") be properly translated as {pagh vIQoybe'}, {vay' vIQoybe'}, or something
> else like simply {vIQoybe'}?
>
> I'm sure there must be an example sentence out there somewhere, but I haven't found it yet.
I can't recall any examples of double negatives in Klingon. Can anyone else?
Examples of "negative" sentences with {pagh}:
pa'vo' pagh leghlu'
The room has no view. CK ("nothing is seen")
SoHvaD pagh vIjatlh, Human
I have nothing to say to you, human. (ENT "Affliction")
quv vuv nuv pagh ghajbogh neH
Honor is for those with nothing to lose! PB
lojmIt poSDaq Daq pagh
No one eavesdrops at an open door. PK
However, you can use negatives with {vay'}:
naDev vay' vISovbe'
I don't know anyone here. CK
qeylIS'e' lIjlaHbe'bogh vay'
Kahless the Unforgettable S8 ("K. whom no one can forget")
wej Heghchugh vay', SuvtaH SuvwI'
A warrior fights to the death.
("If someone has not yet died, a warrior keeps on fighting"). TKW
batlh Heghlu'chugh noDnISbe' vay'
An honorable death requires no vengeance. TKW ("no one needs to seek revenge")
The negative answer to {vay' DaQoy'a'?} "Do you hear anything/something" is either {vay' vIQoybe'} "I don't hear anything" or {pagh vIQoy} "I hear nothing".
If permitted at all, double negatives may cancel each other out as they do in formal, high-style English - e.g. "I don't remember not hearing anything, your honor." - a type of stylistic device called {pabHa'} in Klingon.
KGT 176: Sometimes words or phrases are coined for a specific occasion, intentionally violating grammatical rules in order to have an impact. Usually these are never heard again, though some gain currency and might as well be classified as slang [...] A common way to create these constructions is to bend the grammatical rules somewhat, violating the norm in a way that is so obvious that there is no question that it is being done intentionally. To do this is expressed in Klingon as {pabHa'} ("misfollow [the rules], follow [the rules] wrongly)".
KGT 181: No one accepts such constructions as grammatical; their inappropriateness, the way they grate on the Klingon ear, is exactly what gives them elocutionary clout. A visitor may hear one of these odd suffixes occasionally, but, as with other intentionally ungrammatical forms, it is best to avoid using them until one is extremely comfortable with the nuances of Klingon style.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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