tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Mar 05 08:34:16 1995
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Re: jIwuq versus tIn jIH
>Date: Fri, 3 Mar 1995 23:17:54 -0500
>Originator: [email protected]
>From: "R.B Franklin" <[email protected]>
>On Fri, 3 Mar 1995 [email protected] wrote:
>> When am I supposed to attach the indefinite nominative pronoun prefix to the
>> stative verb? And when am I supposed to use the stative verb plus a
>> standalone nominative pronoun.
Thanks for jumping in here, yoDtargh (no, I'm not being sarcastic). My
mail-access has not been quite so easy lately as it used to be, and I can
use all the help I can get (I'll be out for the end of this week through
Monday of next week too, so that will only make things worse).
>> So far in my limited study, I have seen only a partial pattern. The prefix
>> seems to be used more for temporal feelings. Even without the suffix to the
>> nominative pronoun, -taH, to indicate continuing status of the attributes
>> applied by the stative verb, standalone stative verb plus standalone
>> nominative pronoun constructions seem to indicate more of a lasting quality.
>> This is not to say the quality cannot change someday, viz. mach jIH.
>> Actually, tIn jIHtaH I have not encountered thus far. So, perhaps there is
>> no need according to Klingon grammar to indicate that the attributes are
>> continuing for a lengthy time period.
>Pronouns are only added to the verb for emphasis or added clarity.
>Remember, the verb prefix must match the subject of the verb. {mach jIH}
>and {tIn jItaH} are not correct since the lack of a verb prefix indicates
>the subject is he, she, it or they. You would say {jImach} and {jItIntaH}
>instead. For the sake of clarity you would add the pronoun to distingish
>{QIp ghaH} from {QIp chaH}. You could also say {jImach jIH} or
>{jItIntaH jIH} in which case the pronoun is used for added emphasis.
Yes. Thanks for stating this so well. I'm not sure where the idea that
you could say "*tIn jIH" came from; it would sound like English "I does."
I suppose "jItaH" is grammatical, because "taH" is also a verb, but "*tIn
jItaH" doesn't work since you seem to have two sentences with no way to
relate them ("It's big I continue").
>Klingon pronouns can also function as verbs, meaning "to be". You
>normally use this when the sentence has no other verb. When a pronoun is
>used as a verb, it can take verb suffixes:
>tlhIngan ghaHbe'. (He is not a Klingon.)
>pa'wIjDaq jIHtaH. (I remain in my room.)
>romulusngan Duj 'oH'a'? (Is it a Romulan ship?)
Right. The trick is here that we're using the pronouns as a copula ("to
be") when the complement of the verb is a noun or noun-phrase in some
sense. So it's used to indicate position (being at a place: pa'wIjDaq
jIH(taH)) or equality between two things (He==Klingon: tlhIngan ghaH).
>yoDtargh
>P.S. When are we going to get a new BG? Is ~mark the BG pro tempore?
I have absorbed the BG job into the Grammarian's job until I can think of
whom to give it to. I probably shouldn't be sitting on it so long,
especially since the load is so ridiculous. Oh well.
~mark