tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Oct 16 19:59:00 1994
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Re: KLBC: Compound verbs
According to Terry Donnelly:
>
> When I was composing the joke I recently posted, I considered turning the
> phrase {QoQ lIng} "produce music" into a compound verb: {QoQlIng} "to
> play music". I'm assuming from the example of {HoSghaj} in TKD that
> compound verbs are theoretically possible. Are there any guidelines for
> forming them?
You should look in TKD under the heading "compound verbs",
right next to the verb-verb construction...
Okay, okay. Seriously, folks, there are no rules for making
compound verbs. {HoSghaj} is one of those exceptional words
that Okrand made up that basically violates the rules he
followed for most of the rest of the vocabulary. Most verbs are
monosyllabic with VERY few exceptions. Meanwhile, you can't
take that kind of exception and run with it. You can build
compound nouns. You cannot build compound verbs. Period. Okrand
can. You can't. He doesn't very often.
> My understanding of compounds in general is that you use a compound when
> the meaning of the compound word is sufficiently different from the two
> words as a phrase to be considered a new concept (a rather subjective
> criterion!). I have trouble extrapolating this to active verbs. Is
> {QoQlIng} sufficiently different from {QoQ lIng}?
This is true for nouns, but not for verbs. You cannot, for any
reason, make up {QoQlIng} and call it a verb. Okrand could,
but almost certainly wouldn't. He probably made up {HoSghaj} at
about 3:00 AM after too much coffee and a deadline.
> It's easier for me to see this with "adjectival" concepts, such as
> {HoSghaj}. In this case, I think the distinction is between permanent
> and temporary states. So
I think you are extrapolating a little too much. The truth is,
we have rules that we can use. Okrand made them up. He also
breaks the rules sometimes, and we can use his exceptions, but
we can't make up our own exceptions. To do that is to fracture
the language into dialects, because we are not working those
exceptions out with the man who will probably be writing the
Klingon for all the movies that aren't out yet...
> (reH) HoSghaj yaS.
> The officer is always powerful.
>
> DaHjaj HoS ghaj yaS.
> Today the officer has power.
Not really. rut HoSghaj yaS. reH HoS ghajtaH yaS Duj.
"Sometimes, the officer is powerful. Always, the officer's ship
has power."
> Is this true? If so, this could open the way to a whole range of
> "adjectival" concepts that are currently lacking in Klingon. Of course,
> since these are actually verbs, they'd have to be used accordingly. For
> example:
>
> quvghaj
> to be honorable
Please no. I respect what you are reaching for, but what you
get is little more than {quv ghaj} and the cost is an
agglutenative language gone wild. This is the kind of thing
that those who write Klingon love and those who read Klingon
hate. It makes it easier to go from any English you like into
Klingon, and makes it more cryptic to extract back from Klingon
to English.
> reH quvghaj tlhInganpu'
> Klingons are always honorable.
If you add the space back in, you lose nothing.
> DaHjaj Heghpu' quvghajbogh tlhIngan.
> Today has died an honorable Klingon.
Again, if you add the space back in, you lose nothing. Also,
recognize that to a Klingon, there may very well not be the
distinction we hold between "honored" and "Honorable". They are
a very social tribe. For them, what we would consider honorable
behavior that lacks the recognition we imply with "honored"
probably means nothing. The act of being honored means
everything. This is the reason that so many Klingons often
wander away from honorable behavior when they either come to
lose the faith that their honorable behavior will be honored,
or if they feel that somehow they can achieve being honored
without the necessity of being honorable.
That's also why they like to wear big medals and other symbols
of their accomplishments. This is why they talk about the great
deeds of their families so much. This is why they get so upset
if you imply that their mothers have smooth foreheads. This is
why Discommendation is such a big deal.
And it is probably why we don't have a word for "be honorable",
while we DO have a word for "be honored", which is easily
{-moH}ed to mean the transitive verb "honor".
> toH, chay' bIQub?
yInIDqa'.
> - Terry
charghwI'