tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 15 18:01:19 1997
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RE: jajwIj
- From: "David Trimboli" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: jajwIj
- Date: Thu, 15 May 97 22:13:35 UT
jatlh ter'eS:
> > >mu'tlheghvamDaq DuHqu' <jIHvaD>, 'ach 'utbe'.
> >
> >lu'. chaq mu' <muja'> Dalo'chugh vaj mu'tlheghlIj vIyaj
>
> pImbe'law' wotmey 'e' vIHar. mu'tlheghvamDaq DoS (=object) lughajbe'
> {ja'}{jatlh} je. *"he reports me" 'oS <muja'> 'ej "he reports _to_ me"
'oSbe'
> 'e' vIHar.
I disagree. Going through section 4 of TKD, we have many examples with {ja'}:
yIja''egh
tell yourself!
peja''egh
tell yourselves!
qaja'qang
I am willing to tell you
nuja'rup
they are prepared to tell us
qaja'
I tell you
qaja'pu'
I told you
HIja'neS
do me the honor of telling me
choja'chugh
if you tell me
choja'pa'
before you tell me
yIja'Qo'
don't tell him!
choja'Qo'chugh
if you refuse to tell me
That's just in section 4. It is clear that the person being spoken to is the
object of this verb. It may even be that the person being spoken to is the
*direct* object of the verb. This is the interpretation I prefer. This makes
the fact that any quotation used may be put either at the beginning or the end
much more logical.
qaja'pu' HIqaghQo'
HIqaghQo' qaja'pu'
nuja' tlhIngan wIch ja'wI'pu' yIntaHvIS qeylIS'e' lIjlaHbe'bogh vay' batlh
'etlhvam chenmoHlu'pu'.
According to Klingon legend, this sword of honor descends from the time of
Kahless the Unforgettable. (SkyBox card S8)
There's even {ja'chuq} "tell each other." I can find no canon use of {ja'}
with an object other than the person being spoken to.
Also, the two glosses in TKD for {ja'}, "tell, report," are confusing at to
transitivity. I believe that Okrand was using "tell" for all of the
transitive examples above, and "report" for using {ja'} with the no-object
prefixes. Thus, while {vIja'} is "I tell him," {jIja'} is "I report." You
*could* say "I tell," but it doesn't sound correct in English. "Report" is
simply a smoother translation, and I think that's why Okrand chose it.
qaja'pu' Duj vISamta'
I told you, "I've located the ship."
jIja'pu' Duj vISamta'
I reported, "I've located the ship."
--
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97371.4