tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Dec 16 10:26:27 1994
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: -lu'
- From: "Mark J. Reed" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: -lu'
- Date: Fri, 16 Dec 94 13:24:05 EST
- In-Reply-To: Your message of Thu, 15 Dec 1994 16:00:04 -0500. <[email protected]>
ghItlh charghwI':
\ This is my point. If I say:
\
\ matlh HoHqanglu'
\
\ With current evidence, I cannot accept the translation:
\
\ "One is willing to kill Maltz."
"Someone", actually. What current evidence causes you to reject this
translation?
\ I have to accept the translation:
\
\ "Maltz is willing to be killed."
I have difficulty accepting that the meaning of "to be willing" imparted by
-qang is somehow magically transferred to the *object* of the sentence by
the further addition of -lu'.
I don't see -lu' as equivalent to vay', either; I interpret a sentence with
vay' as referring to a particular, but unidentified, party, e.g.
nughoS vay'! Someone's coming!
Whereas the subject in a -lu' construction is completely vague, either
unimportant or general. I mean, imagine if Kruge had said to Valkris:
batlh lIqawtaH vay' Someone will remember you with honor
instead of
batlh Daqawlu'taH You will be remembered with honor
The former implies that there exists some person somewhere that
will remember her with honor; the latter implies that it is a general
state of affairs, that anyone who remembers her will think of her honorably.
(In the former case, Kruge might even be referring to himself obliquely,
although obliqueness doesn't seem to be way up there on the list of Klingon
character traits.)
All IMESHO.
-marqoS
--
Mark J. Reed
Email: [email protected] - Voice: +1 404 315 6296 x158 - Fax: +1 404 315 0293
SecureWare, Inc. / 2957 Clairmont Rd Suite 200 / Atlanta GA 30329-1647