tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jan 26 14:58:56 1995
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Re: (n) orbit?
On Thu, 26 Jan 1995, A.Appleyard wrote:
> Someone wrote:-
> > If we stretch just a little, we might try to use {bav} as an adjective.
> > {bav} = (v) orbit, be an orbit ** proposed extension to definition
> > Then {He bav} would do just fine without needing an entirely new word.
>
> Mark Shoulson replied:-
> > "to orbit" and "to be an orbit" are vastly different concepts. I see that
> > you're trying to get something like "bavbogh He". ...
>
> {Doy' puq} = "the child is tired", {puq Doy'} = "tired child". Thus,
> {bav Duj} = "the ship is in orbit", {Duj bav} = "ship which is in orbit".
It's not quite as simple as that. Using a verb adjectivally by
placing it after the verb only works when the verb is intransitive. Since
{bav} (orbit) is probably a transitive verb, {Duj bav} means "it orbits the
ship". You need to say something like {bavbogh Duj} (the ship which orbits).
> This reversing of word order between these 2 constructions, plus a fair amount
> of individual verbs that <can> be used as nouns, seems to allow complimentary
> ambiguous pairs like:-
> {qum qeS} = V N "the advice governs"
> N V "a government which is advising [someone]"
> {qeS qum} = V N "an advice which governs"
> N V "the government is advising [someone]"
Since {qum} and {qeS} are also both transitive verbs, they would
not normally be used as adjectives. Therefore, these pairs are not
really ambiguous.
qum qeS. He/she/it advises the government.
qeS qum. He/she/it governs the advice.
qumbogh qeS "the advice which governs"
qeSbogh qum "the government which advises"
yoDtargh