tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 06 11:17:59 1994

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Re: *sigh*




On Tue, 6 Dec 1994, R.B Franklin wrote:

> > > naDev ghotpu'vam DIratlhmoH 'e' vIchup 'ej mej chaH 'e' lutlhoblaHDI' neH
> > > tlhIngan Hol lulo'taHvIS vaj mej chaH 'e' DIchaw'.  {{;-)
> 
> > mu'tlheghmey chenmoHpu'bogh /yoDtargh/ vIyajbe'taH
> 
> This isn't in TKD, but people on the List usually put {-'e'} on the head 
> noun the of a relative clause ({-bogh} phrases).  That's because
> {mu'tlheghmey chenmoHpu'bogh yoDtargh vIyajbe'taH} is ambiguous since 
> it can mean two different things:  (1)  I am not understanding the sentences 
> which yoDtargh had made; or (2) I am not understanding yoDtargh which 
> had made the sentences.

*nod*  i can understand that.  only reason i didn't was because i hadn't 
noticed the trend.  if it helps with clarity, i'll do it.  but i don't 
know how "correct" it is.

> To indicate it is 'the sentences' you don't understand, and not me 
> (yoDtargh), you can put {-'e'} on the head of the relative clause to 
> indicate whether {mu'tlheghmey} or {yoDtargh} is object of the sentence. 
> I.e. {mu'tlheghmey'e' chenmoHpu'bogh yoDtargh vIyajbe'taH.}  
> At least, that's what I hope you meant.  {{:-)

*nods*  yep.... that was the general idea... *grin*

> Also, you really don't need to use {-taH}, I hate to think that your 
> inability to understand my sentences is a continuous or ongoing thing and 
> I hope I my sentences are not always hard to understand.  {{:-)
> 
> I also think {-ta'} would be better than {-pu'} because {-pu'} seems to 
> imply that I have made the sentences inadvertently.

actually, i used {-taH} to indicate that i had been thinking about this 
particular sentence(s) for a while and still couldn't understand it, and 
would probably continue to not understand it until someone could explain 
it to me.  perhaps the addition of {-vam} to <mu'tlheghmey> would've made 
that implication clearer.

and i used <pu'> because i was referring to your creation of those 
sentences.  1) i didn't know if you were specifically trying to use one 
construction or another (and had done so successfully!), and 2) because, 
since its *speaking*, it doesn't seem to me to have a goal as such.  of 
course it has an intent, but it seems (TO ME) that speaking is so much an 
everyday part of klingon life that it warrants {-pu'} and not {-ta'}.  
this is not to say that you don't speak deliberately; rather it is to say 
that *everyone* speaks deliberately and that when someone finishes saying 
something it isn't usually cause for celebration.  *shrug*  just the way 
i see it.

> mu'tlheghmey'e' chenmoHta'bogh yoDtargh vIyajbe'.
> Yes, that sounds better to me.

mu'tlheghmeyvam'e' chenmoH<-ta'? -pu'?>bogh yoDtargh vIyajbe'taH

[explaination deleted... thanks, yoDtargh...]

> 'ej mej chaH 	 'e' lutlhoblaHDI' neH 		tlhIngan Hol lulo'taHvIS
> (and they leave,  only when they can ask that, 	while they are using the 
> 						Klingon language) 
> "...and only when they are able to ask to leave in Klingon..."

ahhhh!!!  i keep forgetting that the adverbial <neH> is an oddball.  
thanks for pointing that out.  (everything else made sense; i just 
couldn't figure out how the verb "he wants it" fit in.... *grin*)

> > <neH> lo'law'ghach vIyajbe'
> > vIQIjlu''a'
> 
> {vIQIjlu''a'} means (Is someone explaining me?).  It might be better to 
> say, {jIHvaD QIjqanglu''a'} (Is someone willing to explain it to me?) or

i disagree with this statement.  i don't think that's the way objects 
work in tlhIngan Hol.  what i understand is (and someone correct me if 
i'm wrong), if only one object is present, Hol doesn't distinguish 
whether it is an indirect or direct object.  only context makes this.  i 
can say <qabuS> (i think that's the word, don't have TKD with me) and it 
might mean "i concentrate on you" or "i concentrate TO you" (implying 
esp).  hrm.... i think that's not quite the example i was looking for, 
but ... hrm.  

<qanIH>
"I steal you."
"I steal FROM you."

there, that's better.  i think.  
this is how *i* understand objects to work.  i've seen several people on 
this list say something like <Soj qanIH> for "I steal food from you."  
(at least, i think <Soj> is food.... you get the idea.)  i don't know if 
this is good grammar, but it makes sense to me.  so i think that 
<vIQIjlu''a'> makes sense.  perhaps <vIQIjqanglu''a'> might be better, 
clearer, but i don't see the first as grammatically incorrect.

again, someone correct me if i'm offbase.

> The {neH} I was using was the adverbial, meaning "just", "only", "merely".

the only thing i would say about this is: i thought {neH} was an 
attention-drawer.  drawing the importance from the verb it modifies.  
kinda like saying "well, dad, i *kinda* got a speeding ticket today."  by 
using {neH} in your sentence, you remove its importance, and thus remove 
importance of the entire sentence.  (imesho.)

> In the sentence above, I was trying to use {neH} to modify the preceeding 
> subordinate clause:  
> {luthloblaHDI'} (when they can ask it)
> {lutlhoblaHDI' neH} (just/only when they can ask it)

this would actually be "when they can *barely* ask it".  "when they can 
merely ask to leave, they can go.  we don't care if they learn more than 
that."  that's the kind of context *i* understand {neH} to be found in.

[other stuff deleted... thanks again]

> > > yoDtargh
> > --naQ'avwI'
> yoDtargh
--naQ'avwI'

tlhIngan Hol Dajatlhchugh "[email protected]"Daq jabbI'IDmeylIj yIngeH
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