tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Sep 12 23:04:21 1994
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Re: KLBC: prepositional phrases
I appreciate the good questions that have been coming in lately.
According to R.B Franklin:
>
> This is something I've always had trouble with:
>
> If I say {vaSDaq jIyIt}, does that mean:
> 1. I am walking into the hall;
> 2. I am walking towards the hall; or
> 3. I am walking (with)in the hall?
> Is there a way to distinguish these actions in Klingon?
This is ambiguous in Klingon. I tend to mentally translate
anything with {-Daq} as "at". {vaSDaq jIyIt} means, "I am
walking at the hall." This English translation is similarly
ambiguous, so if it is important to me to be clear about which
of the above meaning I want, I will clarify:
1. jIyIt 'ej DaH vaSDaq jIpaw.
2. vaSDaq jIyIt 'ach wej jIpaw.
3. vaSDaq jIyIttaH.
Some may prefer {vaSDaq jIyItlI'} for the third option. Even
these may be considered ambiguous, but I think they are less
ambiguous than the shorter text.
> Are {yIt} and other verbs of motion like {qet} & {puv} transitive in
> the same way {ghoS} is?
I think not. The translation for {ghoS} strongly implies that a
pathway is the direct object of this verb. No other verb of
motion implies this so much. Just seeing the relative
complexity of the definition in TKD might clue you in that this
is one very different verb.
> (vaSDaq vIyIt)
Not quite. I would say {vaS vIghoS} more naturally than {vaSDaq
vIghoS}. The latter would not be completely wrong, but the
{-Daq} is not necessary for this verb. It is so clear that the
verb is involved in locations rather than objects that {-Daq}
is not needed. This is strongly suggested by TKD.
> And if so, does the verb prefix
> indicate the prepositional relationship of the subject to the preceeding
> noun?
> E.g. vaSDaq jIyIt I'm walking (with)in the hall.
> vaSDaq vIyIt I'm walking in(to) the hall.
Nice idea, but I doubt that this has any validity. The first
sentence means, "I walk at that hall." The other would mean, "I
walk it at the hall," presuming that we allow {yIt} to be
transitive.
> yoDtargh
charghwI'