tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Mar 13 19:03:26 1996
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Re: nabwIj - tlhIngan wo' batlh(&KLBC)
- From: [email protected] (Alan Anderson)
- Subject: Re: nabwIj - tlhIngan wo' batlh(&KLBC)
- Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 22:04:21 -0500
Thiago Miranda writes:
>First I want to thank you all for all of the suggestions you gave me for
>"nabwIj". Thanks to ghunchu'wI' especially, and addressing you [ghunchu'wI']
>specifically, I just want to apologize for any time I might have come accross
>as offensive or rude. I really didn't meant to if it seemed that way...No
>hard feelings?
bIDochlaw'chugh qay'be'. qaparbe'bej.
>> Try {romuluSngan DIcharghmeH Qu' Qatlh law'
>> verengan DIcharghmeH Qu' Qatlh puS}
>I'm a bit at a loss here. You said that {chargh} is a verb that couldn't
>fint into law'/puS construction? But on your sentence we still see {chargh}.
> Is this allowed because of the {-meH}? or is it because it is followed by
>{Qu'}, a noun?
The phrases with {...DIcharghmeH} are "purpose clauses" (see TKD 6.2.4).
They're being used to describe {Qu'}, which is the noun in the {law'/puS}
comparison. I can translate my sentence as "The task to conquer Romulans
is more difficult than the task to conquer Ferengi."
>I'm gathering that other than the wrong suffix placement, I have not quite
>understood how to make a verb a noun. Is there some other way to do it?
The absolutely most preferred *best* way to make a verb a noun is not to
do it at all. :-) The Klingon vocabulary we have is heavy on the verbs,
and I find that Klingon grammar tends mostly to deal with verbs. Trying
to use a noun to say something where a verb would work better is a very
common stumbling block I see when beginners try to translate English into
Klingon. For me, it's much easier to state an idea with Klingon grammar
(translating words later, if necessary) than to translate an idea into
Klingon from English.
>Or am I missing a point Okrand was trying to make in the TKD?
The point was made later, in an interview published in HolQeD 3:3 (now
would be a good time to order those back issues!). {-ghach} on a naked
verb stem is a "highly marked" form, not normally used; it calls a lot
of attention to itself.
"Where are my $#@% replies?!" would be fine if "reply" were a known noun.
Forcing the verb {jang} into an unnatural role as a noun seems lazy to me.
I'd have asked this using vocabulary already given in TKD, perhaps saying
"Why does nobody $#@% reply?!" or "Does $#@% everyone refuse to answer me?!"
-- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj