tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jan 05 12:06:20 1996
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Re: a new clipped Klingon phrase - for your perusal
> \
> \ yI'chop bite me! {roughly translated}
>
> Not quite, for these reasons:
>
> 1. There's no {'} in the imperative prefix {yI-}; it's just {yIchop}, not
> {yI'chop}.
>
Already did that... next...
> 2. {yIchop} can't mean "bite me!"; it can only mean "bite him!",
> "bite her!", or "bite it!". "Bite me!" would be {HIchop}.
>
...and that... next...
> 3. The fact that you're bothering at all with an imperative prefix makes it
> not clipped. Clipped Klingon refers to a syntactic simplification of
> the language; the clipped form would be just {chop}. In this form,
> the identity of the bitee is no longer explicit; if it's not clear from
> context, you have to use the non-clipped form.
>
Now THIS is new! Okay - I was assuming that the non-clipped form of the phrase
would be something along the lines of "You will bite me!" or some derivitive.
If this is incorrect, I gladly admit my mistake, and bow to your superior
knowledge of the language. Kai Kassai!
> You'd be better off reading the dictionary's grammatical sketch than
> skimming the vocabulary and trying to plug-and-chug based on examples.
> It's a lot to swallow, but if you make a start, then you can ask
> questions here and the Beginner's Grammarian can help you understand
> and apply what you've read.
>
Something tells me I'll be doing a bit o' reading tonight... Qapla!
Doug "The MAD Klingon" Pandimen
aka Sergeant D'Karng "tlhIngan-dogh" K'Zharn, IKV QOQ'IQ/IKC De'wI'Daw
c/o: Jacen "The Jedi Twin" Cantwell
[email protected]
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