tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Nov 18 16:00:38 1997

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Re: KLBC tlhIngan yot - 'ay' cha'DIch

ghItlh Qov:

>It's easiest to understand if you look at the {-moH} verb that we
>have our own word for, instead of having to use "makes" or "causes"
>to translate.
>
>mangvaD to' ghojmoH Sa' - The general teaches the soldier tactics.
>(Or "the general teaches tactics to the soldier") If you think of
>{ghojmoH} as "caused to learn," it almost looks like you are saying
>that the general caused the tactics to learn, for the benefit of the
>soldier. So don't think of it this way. Think that the general
>caused learning, the thing learned was the tactics and the
>beneficiary/recipient/target was the soldier.
>
>This is where thinking of {loDvaD pa' 'elmoH} as "he caused the room
>to be entered" helps me. I am in no way implying that {-moH} has
>anything to do with passive voice, just trying to suggest a way to
>make this less confusing. Entering causation occured. The thing
>directly entered was the room. The thing that got made to enter was
>the man.

There's a simpler explanation. If a transitive verb takes <-moH>, the true
object, unmarked by <-vaD>, is the actual object of the verb, and the
'beneficiary' (I prefer 'agent' in this context) is that which is caused to
act the verb, and is marked with <-vaD>. "I made the Ferengi eat the
pickle." becomes <verenganvaD Hurgh vISopmoH>. The object of 'eat' is
'pickle', and the agent the subject compels to act the verb is 'Ferengi'.

"I make you understand the information," however, is weirder. This is
properly <De' qayajmoH>. Why? Because the agent is a pronoun. One could say
<SoHvaD De' vIyajmoH> but this seems to stress the YOU in the sentence more
than is usually intended. (I used <vI-> since the object here is
"information". I used <qa-> before since there's canon I can't recall which
allows this usage when dealing with a pronoun as the agent.) "I make Torg
understand the information" is still <torghvaD De' vIyajmoH>, though.

At least that's how I've come to understand it. SuStel, do I FINALLY have
it? :o)

Qermaq

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