tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Sep 09 06:36:11 1994

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Re: tu'lu' vs. lutu'lu'



On Fri, 9 Sep 1994, Mark E. Shoulson wrote:
> We use "tu'lu'" pretty often, at least I do.  ... It occurred to me 
> that "-lu'" requires a "lu-" prefix for plural objects, ... the PK 
> phrase "to'baj 'uS lughoDlu'bogh" for "stuff toebadge legs."
> Then I remembered a canon phrase from the phrasebook: naDev tlhInganpu'
> tu'lu'.  Oh my.  Is this a typo in the phrasebook?

  Look at TKD, page 39, in the middle of the page... "When <the suffix -lu' 
is> used with the verb tu' ... and a third-person singular subject 
pronoun (0), the resulting verb form tu'lu' ... is often translated by English 
there is.
  Carefull there!  It doesn't say when the subject is third-person 
singular.  It says, "when used with a third-person singular subject 
pronoun."  Although it seems ungrammatical...when you want to say, "there 
are," you use the null prefix.  As shown by the example given:
                         naDev puqpu' tu'lu'
  I would say use tu'lu to mean "there is/there are" and lutu'lu' to mean 
"they are found" or proper variations there of.  tu' is a special word.  
It can have a special meaning when it takes the null prefix.  tlhIngan 
tu'lu' would mean "There is a Klingon."  And tu'lu' tlhIngan would mean "The 
Klingon is found."  Which brings up a question I've wondered for a long 
time.  When using the word tu'lu' where does the noun go?  I have put the 
noun after the verb because it matches the prefix that way, but TKD 
doesn't really tell us what to do.  What are y'alls thoughts?

janSIy  }}:+D>



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