tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Sep 20 16:27:57 1996

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Re: juHHomwIj pong



96-09-20 09:53:55 EDT, jatlh charghwI':

> juHHomwIjvaD *reHpa* vIpong. jIreHmeH pa' 'oH, ej reH pa' 'oH 
>  tIqwIj'e'.

hee hee!

>  Meanwhile, we have canon suggesting that the following two 
>  sentences are equivalent:
>  
>  jIHvaD taj yInob.
>  taj HInob.

Is there any canon which gives this sort of equivalency for any verb other
than {nob}?  Almost all examples use this one verb, and I, for one, would
like to consider {nob} the exception, not the rule.  I especially take this
viewpoint when another problem word, {pong}, is handled by Okrand in an
entirely different manner.

>  My personal spin on this sort of thing is that the second 
>  example only works if the indirect object and the direct object 
>  are not of the same person.

>  So, if in our one canon use of the verb {pong}, the ditransitive 
>  English verb becomes a Klingon verb with the direct object being 
>  the name and the indirect object being the entity named, I argue 
>  that since the direct object will always be third person (the 
>  name given), so long as the indirect object is NOT third person, 
>  you should be able to use the verb {pong} according to my 
>  original guess:

Assuming that {nob} is following a general pattern of verbs which are
ditransitive in English, then I agree with you.  But I don't think that we
can make the assumption that Okrand is making a statement about English
ditransitivity; instead, he is showing us how to use {pong} and how to use
{nob}, and each one is given a different treatment.

SuStel
Stardate 96722.6


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