tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jul 31 11:42:56 1996
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Re: Klingon "was"
- From: Lisa Bruce <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Klingon "was"
- Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 11:31:42 -0400
Alan,
I get a lot of email from you. I have tried to unsubscribe to this list
many times based on the instructions given in the first email, but it never
works. Could you please help me unsubscribe? I use my email for work and
this is becoming quite inconvenient. Any advice you could give would be
much appreciated.
Thanks!
At 08:01 PM 7/26/96 -0700, you wrote:
>[email protected] writes:
>>I was in the engine room = jonta'pa'Daq jIHpu'
>>
>>Although -pu' is not a tense word, rather is aspect, it still indicates that
>>the action is complete. The sentence implies that the speaker is no longer
>>in the engine room.
>
>I don't think the perfective aspect says anything about having *stopped*
>the action, merely that it is complete. The sentence {pa'Daq jIHpu'}
>"I have been in the room" could easily apply even if I were still there
>while I was speaking.
>
>"I was in the engine room" is a straighforward {jonta' pa'Daq jIH}. The
>lack of an explicit marking of tense isn't a problem. Really. If someone
>asks where you were, your answer is expected to answer that question. If
>someone asks where you are, or where you will be, ditto.
>
>{nuqDaq SoH?} "Where are you?"
>{qarI'taHvIS nuqDaq SoH} "Where were you while I was calling you?"
>{maSaqDI' nuqDaq SoH} "Where will you be when we land?"
>
>All of these could be translated with different tenses. Other context
>indicates what the real intent is. For instance, if we landed an hour
>ago, the third question would be understood to mean "Where were you when
>we landed?"
>
>-- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj
>
>
>