tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Aug 05 23:37:57 1997

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Re: KLBC: We've golden soil



On Stardate 97595.4 muHwI' wrote:

> cha'wIgh asked some questions and I thought SuStel could help me a little
> with some of his questions:
> 
> >We've golden soil and wealth for toil
> >yav SuDwI' maghaj 'ej vum *in exchange for* Huch

For "yellow ground" (I'm not going to even bother trying to decide if {SuD} is 
the correct word covering "gold"), you say {yav SuD}.  {SuD} is being used 
adjectivally, as described in TKD 4.4.  {SuDwI'} means "thing which is 
blue/green/yellow" (or, for the sake of completeness, "one who takes 
chances").

If you're saying "We have yellow ground," you need the correct prefix on 
{ghaj}.  It's got to indicate the correct object.  {yav SuD wIghaj}.

The second part of this sentence doesn't work at all.  {vum} is a noun, {tam} 
is "exchange," and you've missed, I think, the meaning of this entire 
sentence.  Let me rewrite it how I think it means:

mavum, vaj yav SuD, Huch je DIghaj.

> >this is the next line of Advance Australia Fair.
>         {yav SuD vum *in exchange for* Huch je DIghaj}
>         do I need {DI-} or {wI-} ?

{DI} is used when the object is plural.

> >3. putting the second sentence into simpler English would render it as
> >"money in exchange for work". There is a verb *tam* but I don't think it
> >fits the sense here since it means substitute as in substituting one
> >spare part for another.
>         I couldn't answer to that...

{tam} has only been used once in canon.  It was used without any objects.  The 
context was the exchange of technologies between the Romulans and the 
Klingons.  (SkyBox card S33)

> >Does the verb need to be repeated after *'ej*?
>         vISovbe'. Probably yes because it has to be a whole sentence, qar'a'

In English we can elide lots of stuff like that.  See TKD p.61.

> >pechuS 
>         Be noisy! vImughchu''a'?

HIja'.

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian


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