tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Mar 14 20:18:39 1994
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Re: Help, please
- From: Topic Goran <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Help, please
- Date: Tue, 15 Mar 94 15:19:23 MET
- In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>; from "Coz" at Mar 14, 94 6:17 pm
- Mailer: Elm [revision: 70.85]
> I understand how to use the law' puS construction for things like "She is
> bolder than he is," but what if you want to compare two different qualitative
> states, e.g., how do you construct something like "It is better to be dead
> than to be a slave" or "Klingons are better then Terrans" or (my favorite)
> "Better crippled in body than corrupt in mind"?
>
> Do you still try to stuff these into the law' puS construction? It seems to me
> that to do so would not only make these phrases unneccessarily cumbersome, but
> would fail to translate the *meaning*. Please help.
>
> KoSneH
mu'meywIj DalaDqangbe'chugh jabbI'IDvam yIlIj.
I do not see the comparation of two different qualities.
You use 'good/better' in all three cases. I am not sure about my grammar
(pabpo'pu' yIQaH!) but I believe it would come out as
Heghta'ghach QaQ law' toy'taHghach'a' QaQ puS.
(death is better than slavery)
(I hate those -ghach-es. Anybody know a better way out? I'd love to
hear it)
tlhInganpu' QaQ law' tera'nganpu' QaQ puS
porgh lI'be' QaQ law' yab qal QaQ puS
(Can I do lI'be' useless adjectivally? Can adjectival verbs take be'?
If not, then lI'be'bogh porgh)
Qapla' qoranvo'