tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Dec 03 22:20:23 1995

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Re: Translation request (clich'e)

In a message dated 95-11-29 21:37:32 EST, you write:

>Roughly?  Not quite -- the word order is backwards.  In a Klingon sentence,
>the object appears before the verb, and the subject comes last.  You've
>said "Knuth certainly can defeat your(*) daddy."  The {vavoylIj} also has
>an interesting feature.  The suffix {-lIj} is supposed to be used on nouns
>which are not capable of speaking, so you've managed to seriously insult
>the father of the person to whom you are talking!  If you really want to
>say something like "Your pappy could whup Knuth's butt," then it would be
>{qu'nutlh jeyqu'laHbej vavoylI'}.  I've added the {-qu'} to emphasize the
>verb "defeat" -- I think it fits the "whup his butt" idea.
>
>-- ghunchu'wI'               batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj

You're the BG.  This is the first time I've really looked at using the Rover
{-qu'} with a Type 6 Berb suffix.  Although grammatically correct, as best I
can see--there is no conflict due to suffix type--I don't feel good about it.
 I tend to "feel" that {-bej} stands without {-qu'}.

I'd really like to hear your comments here.  Don't let me get away with just
posting this.  Please respond.

peHruS

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