tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Jul 09 03:46:37 1994
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Re: more on stylistics
- From: HoD trI'Qal <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: more on stylistics
- Date: Sat, 09 Jul 1994 15:37:24 -0400 (EDT)
Guido #1vo':
>1) {...'e' Qub} : "I think that..."
>This is extremely idiomatic to English and a few related languages, am I
>right? A much more acceptable way to render this would be {-law'}. TKD *says*
>{-law'} is used to mean "I think" or "I suspect". The verb {Qub} is probably
>closer to describing cranial activity. My usage of {Qub} would follow "think
>*about*".
>
>{tlheDlaw'pu'} "I think she has left."
choQochbe'chu'. <Qub> should definitely not be used in this way. However, -
law' isn't always the answer. I have seen some people use <'e' vIHar> ("I
believe that"), which sometimes is more appropriate, even for your example:
tlheDpu' 'e' vIHar. "I believe she has left."
what you actually said was "She seems to have left". In this case, the same
thing... more or less.
>2) {...'e' vItul} : "I hope that..."
>This bothers me not because I find it idomatic to the wrong language, but
>because {-jaj} expresses this so much more effectively and efficiently. Of
>course, (doubting I need to say this:), just because the optative mood is
>more often rendered with the verb "hope" in English does not mean anything as
>far as Klingon goes.
>
>{DaHjaj SISjaj} "I hope it rains today."
I think some of us tend to avoid -jaj because it is one of those things that
seems to be debated a lot. I personally find nothing wrong with the construct
though. After all, *I* find a difference between saying "I hope you enjoy
yourself", and "may you enjoy yourself!". Of course, there is no guarantee
that a *Klingon* would (Wait a minute... I AM a Klingon...!?!?!?!?!), but it
opens new thoughts. There is certainly nothing to indicate that it is
grammatically or socially incorrect so far.
--HoD trI'Qal
tlhwD lIy So'