tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Feb 19 12:09:19 1996
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Re: KLBC: poHmey
According to Terry Donnelly:
>
...
> Since {'ar} is an adjective, and adjectives can be used as verbs,...
{'ar} is NOT an adjective. It is a question word; an example of
{chuvmey}. It describes a noun similar to an adjectival and it
follows a noun similar to a verb being used adjectivally, but
it is NOT an adjective. You cannot generalize about it to use
it as a verb.
> could you
> turn it around and say {'ar rep} "How many hours are there?" You could also
> use this form to say things like {pa' 'ar Duj} "How many ships are (over)
> there?"
In a word, no. We have no rules or examples to justify any of
this.
> Responding to charghwI', I can see how Klingons wouldn't engage in the
> pleasantries we Humans do, but I can also see situations when even a
> Klingon simply has to ask someone else for information. What would the
> captain on the bridge of a Bird-of-Prey do if he had to know the time?
> Get up and walk to a chronometer like a menial? Have someone rip the
> chronometer out of the control panel and carry it to him? Or just order
> an underling to tell him the time?
Any Klingon captain without a chronometer deserves to be
replaced. If his chronometer is damaged, he should take one
from a lower ranking soldier, who, in turn, takes one from a
lower ranking soldier, until in the end, two of the lowest
ranking soldiers fight over the watch and one of them dies so
nobody has to do without. It is a simple and effective process.
The simple truth is that the question, if asked at all, will
probably be idiomatic. Perhaps {rep 'ar ghaj DaH?} English
says, "What time is it?" French translates to "What hour is
it?" In sign language, you sign the word "What?" and then point
to the spot on your left wrist where a watch would be. It is a
weird question in any language involving measurement, one of
the most gaping voids in Klingon. Okrand needs to address this
before we can accept any choice for this.
> -- ter'eS
charghwI'
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