tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jan 15 08:42:52 1997

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Re: KLBC: tea for two



>>Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 12:06:48 -0800
>>From: Thornton Rose <[email protected]>
>>
>>In my first post, I asked how I would say "What kind of tea do you 
>>want?" (a question that I commonly ask my wife in the evenings). SuStel, 
>>like a good instructor, said that I should try it first. So, I took a 
>>step back and decided to start with a common but simple dialog that 
>>occurs between my wife and me regularly:
>
>SuStel was a bit unfairly cryptic with you, I fear.  The question of "which
>X" or "what kind of X" has been bounced around on this list a LOT, with a
>variety of answers.  One of them was given by charghwI', Will Martin, who
>maintained that Klingon would not use question words for this at all, but
>ask more directly, in command form.  And indeed, Marc Okrand recently
>answered the question (not knowing Will's stand) in a way that agreed
>perfectly with Will's method of choice (to his delight).  
>
>>Q: Dargh DaneH'a'?  |  Do you want some tea?
>>A: HIja'.           |  Yes.
>>Q: nuq DawIv?       |  What kind?  (lit. "What do you choose?")
>
>This works.  But it really does mean "what do you choose", not "what kind."
>
>>Now, sometimes I just start with the question "What kind of tea do you 
>>want?", because I know the answer is going to be "yes". In tlhIngan Hol
>>I want to say:
>>   nuq Dargh DaneH?
>>
>>I have read on the list, though, that I can't use {nuq} followed by a 
>>noun. I don't understand why that is the case. TKD defines {nuq} as
>>
>>   nuq   what? (ques)
>>
>>and in "6.4. Questions" says
>>
>>   For 'Iv "who?" and nuq "what?" the question word fits into the
>>   sentence in the position that would be occupied by the answer.
>
>Indeed.  Which would imply that "nuq Dargh DaneH" is asking "What's tea do
>you want?" or "You want the tea of what?"  Not quite what you mean either.
>
>>Unfortunately, all of the examples use {nuq} as if it were a pronoun.
>
>Well, it is.  It's a questioning pronoun.  It replaces the noun being asked
>for in the sentence.
>
>>So, here is my second try at "What kind of tea do you want?", even 
>>though it seems awkward:
>>
>>   Dargh DatlhutlhmeH nuq DawIv?
>
>Still awkward, yes.
>
>What SuStel was trying to get you to was the method Okrand used (which
>charghwI' had anticipated).  It's not a question, it's a command:
>
>Dargh DaneHbogh yIwIv!
>
>or
>
>Dargh DaneHbogh yIDel!
>
>(or yIngu').  See?  Rather than *asking* and fretting over how to say
>"which?", you demand the information:  Choose the tea you want!  Describe
>it!  Identify it!
>
>~mark

toH! jIyaj. <wotmey> yIQub.

Q: Dargh DaneH'a'?         |  Do you want some tea?
A: HIja'.                  |  Yes.
R: Dargh DaneHbogh yIwIv.  |  Choose the tea which you want.

Could I also reply {Dargh Segh yIwIv.} ("Choose the type of tea.")?


Qapla'

-- torroS




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