tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 25 00:31:07 1995
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Re: What's wrong with "which"?
Wed, 24 May 1995, ghItlh charghwI':
> "Which weapon should I use to destroy the sarcastic human?" We
> have no question word that can fulfill this grammatical
> function. It is an adjective. All of our question words are
> adverbials or nouns (except {'ar}, which is hardly useful as a
> word for "which").
To me, "which" is similar to "what" and "who". "What" inquires as to one of
any conceivable possibility, "who" inquires as to what person, while "which"
inquires as to one of a particular group or objects or persons.
If I say, "What should I use...," the answer can refer to any object
whatsoever, but if I ask, "Which weapon should I use...", I am asking the
same question, but I have simply narrowed down the list of possible
answers to weapons.
I would state the two questions as follows:
Human vIQaw'meH nuq vIlo'? (What should I use to destroy the human?)
Human vIQaw'meH nuH nuq vIlo'? (Which weapon should I use to destroy the
human?) or (What weapon should I use to destroy the human?)
By using {nuq} or {'Iv} in a noun-noun construction, you are narrowing the
choice of answers to a specific group, which is exactly the fuction "which"
performs in English, i.e. what or whom, out of a particular group.
tay yuQmeyvam nuq? (Which of these planets is civilized?)
qama'pu'vam 'Iv wIHoH? (Which of these prisoners should we kill?)
naDev cha' Duy'a' tu'lu'. ghoqwI' ghaH cha' 'Iv'e'? (There are two
ambassadors here. Which of the two is a spy?)
qaStaHvIS tay HIpmeywIj nuq vItuQ? (Which of my uniforms should I wear at
the ceremony?)
> charghwI'
yoDtargh