tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jan 29 15:35:08 1997
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RE: Phrases
- From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: Phrases
- Date: Wed, 29 Jan 97 23:07:30 UT
January 29, 1997 10:17 AM, jatlh 'Iwvan:
> David Trimboli wrote:
> > January 28, 1997 5:48 AM EST, jatlh Perry J. Brulotte:
> > > [If war is costly and war is hell then hell must be costly.]
> >
> > waghchugh noH 'ej ghe'or 'oHchugh noH'e', vaj waghnIS ghe''or.
>
> _tKD_ 4.2.2 implies that the Type 2 verbal suffixes indicate deontic
> modality (the need for, or desirability of, an event); here the _must_
> performs an alethic function (`it follows that hell is costly' rather
> than `hell needs to be costly'). Unless there is precedent for such
> use of {-nIS}, I suggest using {-law'} or nothing at all.
Yes, you seem to be right. Still, you'd better remove the "KLBC" from
messages if you need to explain your vocabulary. :)
> > > DaHjaj nuqDaq bIjaH DaneH? ... or ... nuqDaq DaHjaj bIjaH DaneH?
> > > [Where do you want to go today?]
> >
> > Holtej has recently pointed out that sentences like this one are
> > actually a question-as-object, a construction which, while not
> > explicitly forbidded, is rather distasteful to me, and Okrand has
> > implied before that it may not occur.
>
> I must've missed that discussion. Holtej, qay' qachvam 'e' qatlh DaQub
> 'e' QIjbogh jabbI'IDlIj HIngeHneS.
You've done it right here! (On purpose?) Besides the fact that you'd
probably have to use {qatlh 'e' DaQub}, you've got a question as object. I'll
leave it to Holtej to explain the linguistics of it (I followed it, but I
couldn't reproduce it).
<Holtej, qay' qechvam qatlh 'e' DaQub? jIHvaD QIjbogh jabbI'ID yIngeHneS.>
yIjatlh.
> > Any objection to not having the *want* in there? It's possible,
> > with some twisted constructions . . .
>
> How about {DaHjaj nuqDaq bIjaHqang?}?
This would also work, although it means a slightly different thing. The
twisting comes in only if you don't accept this or the alternative I gave; if
you want a very accurate recreation of the sentence.
--
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97081.4