tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Oct 13 14:42:41 1997
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Re: KLBC:courtroom
- From: Qov <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: KLBC:courtroom
- Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 14:42:30 -0700
At 10:55 97-10-13 -0700, you wrote:
}Hi guys, qa'SuvwI' here.
nom bIghoj 'ej batlh laHlIj Datob.
}Human:puq vIHoHta' I killed the child
Or "I have killed the child."
}*Judge*:nuq'e' Dajatlh WHAT did you say
We had arguments about two differnt aspects of this sentence last month.
Let's see if I can summarize.
1. Because the thing said in reported speech is not the object of the verb
of saying ({jIghung jIjatlh} - "I said I was hungry"), some argue that the
question word asking about what was said shouldn't be the object of the verb
of saying either. I don't agree, but people may still follow up to say this
is wrong. In my opinion {nuq'e' bIjatlh} means "You said {nuq'e'}" and
{nuq'e' Dajatlh} has the meaning you want.
2. {nuq} isn't actually a noun, so the type 5 noun suffix {-'e'} might not
belong on it. I have been criticized for using {'Iv} and {nuq} too much
like nouns.
}Human:puq vIHoHHa' I did not kill the child
The {-Ha'} suffix indicates mis- or un- doing something. When Superman
spins the world backwords to reverse time, {*Lois Lane* HoHHa'}. When the
deranged killer runs into the bar and sprays bullets everyhere but the
intended victim gets away, you could say {HoHHa'}. In the movie The
Fugitive {HeSwI' lungu'Ha'pu' qopwI'pu'} - "The arresting officers have
misidentified the suspect."
For simple negation in a statement, use {-be'}. {vIHoHbe'} - "I didn't kill
it."
And to be complete, I'll add that to give a negative order or to denote
refusal, determination that you won't do something, use {-Qo'}. {yIHoHQo'}
"Don't kill him!" {vIHoHQo'} "I refuse to kill him!" "I would not kill him!"
}*Judge*:bInep you lie
qay'be'
}Human:ghobe' no
{ghobe'} is an answer to a yes/no question. Had the judge said {bInep'a'}
"Are you lying?" {ghobe'} would be the answer, but the judge made the
statement "you lie." I recommend something like {teHbe'} "Not true"
{qarbe'} "Not correct" or simply {jInepbe'}.
}*Judge*:DIv soH you are guilty
I think you know that this should have been {bIDIv}. You've used prefixes
correctly up to here. The {SoH} is optioal, it emphasises that YOU are
guilty, as opposed to someone else. Even when a pronoun is used, the prefix
must be there.
}Human:jIqap DIvHa' jIH I insist I'm not guilty
Two points that I've already covered: You need the correct prefix on every
verb, and {-be'} not {-Ha'} for neagtion gives: {jIDIvbe'}.
And a new point: to make one verb the object of another verb, Klingon has a
construction called 'sentence as object.' When you say "I insist something"
the "something" is the object of the verb insist. What do you insist? You
insist that "I am not guilty." Like any other Klingon sentence, we first
write the object, the thing insisted. {jIDIvbe' jIH} then the word {'e'}
to sho that the previous sentence is the object of the upcoming verb. Then
we write the verb and it's subject if any {vIqap}. Not that the verb has to
have a third person object prefix to take {'e'} as its object. {jIDIvbe' 'e'
vIqap} "I insist [that] I'm not guilty." Read section 6.2.5 for the details
and the exceptions.
}*Judge*:DIv soH'e' you ARE guilty
Don't forget that prefix. {bIDIv SoH'e'} would mean "*YOU* are guilty." To
say "You ARE guilty" use a type 6 verb suffix to emphasize the certainty of
the guilt. {bIDIvba'} {bIDIvbej} or {bIDIvchu'}. Read section 4.2.6 and
choose your own level of certainty, English just doesn't have this precision.
}Human:SoQ Qos jIH crying I'm sorry
What happened to your prefixes? I was so impressed. {jIQoS}. There's two
ays to say what I think youare saying here. One is {SoQ. jIQoS} "He
cries. 'I am sorry'." (It may be argued that you must say {jIQoS jatlh}
but I think it's pretty clear without.) The other way is to say {SoQtaHvIS
jIQoS jatlh} "He said 'I'm sorry' while crying." Look at section 4.2.9 and
notice that the suffix {-taH} must always be used with {-vIS}.
}*Judge*:'avwI', Dange' guard, take him away
You need the imperative prefix to make this a command. Look at page 34.
{'avwI'. yInge'}
qa'SuvwI', yIghojtaH. :)
Qov [email protected]
Beginners' Grammarian