tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Mar 19 10:47:45 1997
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Re: some tidbits qororvo'
- From: Ivan A Derzhanski <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: some tidbits qororvo'
- Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997 19:46:51 -0800
- Organization: Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science
- References: <[email protected]>
Mark E. Shoulson wrote:
> I think another point to be made is this feeling that somehow there
> NEEDS to be a verb for "to be afraid" (OK, Klingon does have Haj and
> ghIj. But still). It is significant that -vIp is a suffix and not
> a verb: it shows that in Klingon the emphasis is placed on the result
> of fear. Specifically, you can't just "fear" in a vacuum: you have
> to be afraid to do something in particular.
Not necessarily. You can be afraid of doing something (which is what
{-vIp} is for), or you can be afraid of someone else doing something
(which is when the full verbs come handy).
> [...] (it would be even more interesting, and still quite believable
> in a language, for there to be no verb Haj: if *all* fear was fear of
> doing something.)
Ah, but it isn't. Even fear of being killed can't be expressed in such
a way, since Klingon has no passive.
> Just like in Klingon you can't "need" in abstract, you have to
> "need to do something" with -nIS [...].
Still, there are alternative ways of expressing necessity, in case
you need someone else to do something.
--'Iwvan
--
"reH Sov yInej 'ej Dap yImuS, <dOstI bA mardom-e dAnA nEkO-st,
jagh val qaq law' jup QIp qaq puS" do^sman-e dAnA beh az nAdAn dOst>
(Sheikh Muslihuddin Abu Muhammad Abdullah Saadi Shirazi)
Ivan A Derzhanski <[email protected]>
H: cplx Iztok bl 91, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria <http://www.math.acad.bg/~iad/>
W: Dept for Math Lx, Inst for Maths & CompSci, Bulg Acad of Sciences