tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 30 14:47:34 1996
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Re: KLBC
- From: "William H. Martin" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: KLBC
- Date: Thu, 30 May 1996 17:49:17 -0400 ()
- Priority: NORMAL
On Sat, 25 May 1996 16:02:43 -0700 Alan Anderson
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Laurel Beckley writes:
...
> >bISoptaH'a' Are you eating?
>
> That's one way to translate the Klingon, but I think it ought to be
> translated with the "continuous" meaning made a bit more explicit:
> "Do you continuously eat?" If you are trying to ask if someone is
> eating at the present time, remember that tense is unspecified. The
> "are you" interpretation can just as easily be taken as "will you be"
> or "were you". If you really mean "Are you eating now" you should
> probably ask {DaH bISop'a'?}
I agree. In fact, the way I interpret {bISoptaH'a'?} is rather humorous. Three days ago, I
visited you. You were eating. Two days ago, I visited you. You were eating. Yesterday, I
visited you. You were eating. Today, I visit and you are eating again. bISoptaH'a'?
If you want to make sure you are asking "Are you eating" instead of "Do you eat?" you might
consider {bISoplI''a'?}, though the suffix is not really necessary. At least it implies
that your eating has a goal (getting fed) and when you reach that goal, you will stop
eating.
> -- ghunchu'wI' batlh Suvchugh vaj batlh SovchoH vaj
charghwI'