tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jun 17 07:13:32 1997
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RE: KLBC: imperatives
On Mon, 16 Jun 1997 [email protected] wrote:
> I asked this question about imperatives, and little time after that, realized
> that
> *all* forms of verbs were involved, not only imperative. For example,
> (1) {pIch Daghaj} "it is your fault", "you have faulted"
> (2) {pIch Daghaj wo'rIv} "you, Worf, have faulted"
> (3) {wo'rIv, pIch Daghaj} "Worf, you have faulted"
>
> TKD section 5.6 is not so clear about this. The third form, direct address or
> "vocative", is certainly OK. But the second one makes {wo'rIv} give more
> precise information about the "you" implied by the verb prefix.
I think TKD 5.6 covers both your (2) and (3). Your /pIch Daghaj, wo'rIv/
is the same as TKD's /lu' qaH/. They both perform the same function.
I'm not sure what you're seeing differently about these.
> Since the use of a 2nd or 3rd person subject prefix leaves the "subject" slot
> empty
> in the sentence, I was just wondering how to fill it. However, see TKD 4.2.5
> (indefinite subject) about how this slot is taken advantage of whenever it is
> void...
I don't think the subject slot is empty; at least, not syntactically
empty. You know who the subject is, it's not necessary to repeat it.
In these cases you're talking about, where there's another element in the
sentence that adds more information about a noun, that additional element
is called an appositive. It's not taking the place of the original noun,
it's sitting side-by-side with it. This works for nouns in any syntactic
position (subject, object, etc.).
a. My brother is arriving tomorrow.
b. My brother, the doctor, is arriving tomorrow.
In (b), the subject is still "my brother", but "the doctor" add
additional information. Do we have evidence of apposition in canon? (I
need to start my own annotated canon compendium!). It seems too easy to
confuse apposition with possessive constructions:
c. wa'leS paw loDnI'wI'.
d. wa'leS paw loDnI'wI', Qel.
Who's arriving, my brother, or his doctor? :)
Syntactically, the direct address of TKD 5.6 seems to me to be exactly
like apposition, with the added ability to come at the beginning of the
sentence. (Since direct address would always put the "you" as subject,
it'll never occur in object position, in the middle of the sentence).
> Qapla' -- HdW
--Holtej