tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 03 08:06:53 1996
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RE: RE: Embedded wh-questions
- From: "d'Armond Speers" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: RE: Embedded wh-questions
- Date: Tue, 3 Dec 1996 11:08:36 -0500
- Encoding: 40 TEXT
On Tuesday, December 03, 1996 12:15 AM, William H.
Martin[SMTP:[email protected]] wrote:
> > What do you want to eat? Somehow /nuq
> > DaSop DaneH/ doesn't feel quite right, though that's what I've been
saying.
>
> Actually, this feels exactly right to me. I'd be hard pressed to
> express it any other way. This is a question, not a reference to
> a noun described by a relative clause. You are asking for an
> answer, which is what questions do. In "I wonder who likes
> Mary," there is no request for an answer. There is no question.
> There is only a reference to a noun described by a relative
> clause. See? In "Who do you think the officer hit?" there is a
> question, I suppose, though it feels like the "which" question
> word and I want to convert it into a command.
Here's the curve. :) The "wonder" sentence *was* a question. "Who do you
wonder whether John hit?" Let's see if we can find an example unfettered
by the transitivity question: "who do you see that Mary likes?" It's both
a relavite clause *and* a wh-question. Um, /'Iv'e' parHa'bogh *Mary*
Dalegh?/ Does that come out right? If so, then why isn't "what do you
want to eat" (what do you want that you eat) /nuq'e' DaSopbogh DaneH?/?
Or, if /nuq DaSop DaneH/ is right, why isn't the former /'Iv parHa' *Mary*
'e' Dalegh?/? Oh, this is getting messy.
> Similarly, if you open the refrigerator and ask, "What do you
> want to eat?", I would want to convert THAT into a command,
> since you are demanding that I choose, rather than just asking
> without bounds on my choices.
nuq DaSop? yIwIv!
> > --Holtej
> > Stardate 96922.75
>
> charghwI'
--Holtej
Stardate 96924.50