tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Apr 20 15:56:36 1997

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RE: KLBC: Responding to the curious



At 03:27 PM 4/20/97 -0700, you wrote:
>jatlh Banzai:
>
>>   Many time when it comes up in conversation that I am learning to speak
>> tlhIngan Hol, the inevitable response is, "Say something in Klingon."  I
>> thought the perfect reply would be, "What do you want me to say?", only
>> spoken in tlhIngan Hol.  Can SuStel (and then others, of course) tell me if
>> my syntax is okay?  I respond:
>> 
>> nuq jIjatlh DaneH, or "You want that I say what?"
>
>Yeah, this happens to me a lot.  Here's a funny problem: you know how I have 
>this thing against question as object?  Well, your sentence is one.  The 
>second sentence is the one that is actually *happening* ({DaneH} "you want 
>it"), but it is a statement.  The first sentence (which would have to be {nuq 
>vIjatlh}, as the {nuq} is substituting for a noun, not a sentence) is the 
>question, but not the "base" sentence.  {nuq vIjatlh DaneH} *looks* okay, but 
>I would not want to use it?
>
>I occasionally use {nuq vIjatlhnIS?} "What must I say?"  Something long-winded 
>(which the person bugging you will positively love), is {mu'tlhegh vImughmeH, 
>jIHvaD wa' yIja'} "tell me a sentence to translate."
>
>A warning: this sort of person is almost certainly going to ask you to say 
>something which happens to concern questionable grammar.
>
>> Also note to SuStel:  I've been practicing my "tlh" sound and it's sounding
>> better and better.  Thanks for the coaching on the Talker.  I've even
>> tackled trying to say "tlhutlh", which is beginning to sound fairly decent
>> when I say it.
>
>maj.
>
>SuStel
>Beginners' Grammarian
>Stardate 97302.2
>
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