tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 13 12:11:08 1997

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Re: To -'e' or Not To -'e'



charghwI' wrote:
> So, I strongly suggest that when I say, {charghwI' 'oH 
> pongwIj'e'} or {pongwIj 'oH charghwI''e'}, I'm just saying, "My 
> name is charghwI'," and "charghwI' is my name," respectively. 
> There is no focus implied. Which noun is the subject and which 
> is the object will make a difference in some settings, as in 
> when the subject is a memeber of a class of nouns described with 
> the object. Otherwise, it becomes less important which is the 
> subject and which is the object.
> 
in the light of {SoH 'Iv} and {'Iv SoH} I'm inclined to say,
that - as opposed to English - there is no difference at all.

let's try to put your examples into questions:

{charghwI' 'oH ponglIj'e'}      <<Your name is charghwI'>>
{nuq 'oH ponglIj'e'}            <<What is your name?>>
{charghwI' 'oH nuq'e'} or
{charghwI' nuq}                 <<What is charghwI'?>>

{ponglIj 'oH charghwI''e'}      <<charghwI' is your name>>
{nuq 'oH charghwI''e'}          <<What is charghwI'?>>
{ponglIj 'oH nuq'e'} or
{ponglIj nuq}                   <<What is your name?>>

at least to me, {SoH 'Iv} = {'Iv SoH} implies that
{nuq 'oH ponglIj'e'} = {ponglIj nuq}

(I asssume {SoH 'Iv} may be short for {SoH ghaH 'Iv'e'})

of course it doesn't work like that if you do have a
classification of sorts,

..oh-oh, forgot the correct pronouns for "they"..
but I'd rather make animals sentient than the other way round..

{Ha'DIbaH ?chaH targh} is certainly different from 
{targh ?chaH Ha'DIbaH}...

HomDoq



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