tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Apr 16 15:42:22 1996
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Re: Nouns as verbs & KLBC
- From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
- Subject: Re: Nouns as verbs & KLBC
- Date: Tue, 16 Apr 1996 17:44:55 -0500
macheq writes:
>How do you say in Klingon:
>1) "By the way:"
I *don't* say it in Klingon. This phrase usually carries no meaning;
there's no point in translating it. If you *do* intend for it to mean
something, then say what you intend it to mean. What does it mean to
you?
>2) "Don't behave like a fool!"
>Would: qoH yIDabe'. be O.K.(?)
A couple of people have already pointed out that you have to say {yIDaQo'}.
TKD 4.3: "The suffix {-be'} cannot be used with imperative verbs." In its
place, we use {-Qo'}, which always comes last except for type 9 suffixes.
>I have problems with "like something" in general.
The english "like something" and "in some manner" function as adverbs, but
Klingon has no adverb-forming grammatical tools. There is no "in general"
way to deal with the problem, though there are a couple of useful patterns
for rephrasing the idea. For example, "you walk like a cockroach" could
become {bIyIttaHvIS vetlh Darur} or {bIyItDI' vetlh DaDa}. Other meanings
might call for different ways of stating it: "scream like a mugato" might
be said {bIjachmeH mughato' ghogh yIlo'}.
>3) Is it possible to use nouns as verbs. I know there are few
>nouns that are also verbs, but there is a (small indeed) number
>of them which are not verbs.
>
>I mean something contrary to: -ghach.
Can you give an example of why you might want to do this? I'm sure there's
no magical anti-ghach formula for "verbalizing" nouns; what would the verb
formed from {quHvaj} mean? :-)
-- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj