tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Dec 14 11:36:34 1995
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Re: Compound Nouns and N1-N2 (again)
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: Re: Compound Nouns and N1-N2 (again)
- Date: Thu, 14 Dec 1995 14:36:03 -0500
qaSDI' Hovjaj (hmmm . . . an invented compound noun!) 95944.8 ghItlh HomDoq
>he one problem I see with this is, that different languages
>probably have different idiomatic compounds. thus it may become
>difficult to communicate for terrans of sufficiently different
>cultures using tlhIngan Hol (I'm not a linguist, so if one told
>me that a legal compound noun in say german can be understood
>properly by say indigenous people of Papua, I'll withdraw my
>above objection)
Allow me to refer you to TKD section 2: the TKD will "allow the student of
Klingon to figure out what a Klingon is saying and to respond in an
intelligible, though somewhat brutish manner. Most Klingons will never know
the difference."
Although the noun question is interesting, you have been trying to solve it
using what is essentially a tourist's guide. I believe that most compound
nouns would be used in a somewhat idiomatic fashion, in that one cannot stick
any two nouns together to come up with a word used in real context.
Ultimately, unless Okrand writes lots of Klingon text himself (something I
don't see happening), we won't have many examples of commonly used complex
nouns. Unless you happen to know a few Klingons . . .
Since "most Klingons will never know the difference," I would assume that a
Klingon could figure out my meaning if I said {QuQyaH}. He probably wouldn't
care if I had said {QuQyaH} or {QuQ yaH}. They sound the same. The meanings
are similar enough that a Klingon would be able to get my meaning.
Similarly, a Klingon captain could say {jonta'pa' yIghoS} or {jonta' pa'
yIghoS}, and sure enough, his junior officer would immediately head to the
engine room!
Of course, this doesn't help us Terrans who are interested in little details,
but I thought I'd just say that a Klingon would be very impatient with this
conversation!
SuStel
Hovjaj 95950.7