tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jul 05 07:13:00 1996
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Re: KLBC: Introductions
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>Date: Wed, 3 Jul 1996 15:10:25 -0700
>From: [email protected]
>ghItlh Dave Yeung
>>There were lots of mispronunciations in the
>>Holodeck Adventure. I cringed when I heard "b_ay_yem'a'"
>Because one mispronounces something, it doesn't mean it isn't cannon. This is a
>MO/paramount project so it is cannon, it's just that some people can't pronounce
>as well as others...
I'm not sure what this means. I tend to take lightly the
(mis)pronunciations of most of the actors trying to mouth Klingon.
>>(some names are also verbs)...
>>Maltz {matlh} for example. It also means to "be loyal". Now suppose
>>Maltz is the son of Kahless. {qeylIS puqloD matlh}. Now how do I know
>>I'm not saying Kahless's loyal son, as opposed to Kahless's son Maltz?
>You would probably know by the introduction or context. Also, I don't see how
>{qeylIS puqloD matlh} can be Kahless' loyal son since matlh is not an
>adjective.....
Klingon has no adjectives; it uses verbs adjectivally, remember? So {Duj
tIn} means "big ship" even though "tIn" is a verb meaning "be big." So
{HoD matlh} could mean "the loyal captain." And thus "qeylIS puqloD matlh"
could also mean "Kahless' loyal son." Ambiguity happens in language, even
with proper names (The Importance of Being Ernest?)
>>SoHvaD jIjatlhneS
>Since this sentence has an object, {SoH}, you need the verb suffix {vI-} (I-it)!
No, there is no direct object. There is an *indirect* object, "SoHvaD".
Except for -'e', the type-5 noun suffixes mark a noun as neither subject
nor object, but as some other part of the sentence. "I speak to you, your
honor". Had it been "SoHvaD vIjatlhneS", that would mean "I say IT to you,
your honor", with an implied object "it." Note that if the object were
"SoH", the prefix should be "I-thou" or "qa-" and not "vI-." But "*SoHvaD
qajatlhneS" is redundant.
~mark
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