tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Oct 15 13:41:04 1997
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Re: about -'e'
- From: Qov <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: about -'e'
- Date: Wed, 15 Oct 1997 13:40:50 -0700
At 12:49 97-10-15 -0700, pagh wrote:
}With all the other type 5 suffixes, the noun becomes an "extra" noun, and
}cannot act as either (direct) object or subject. -'e' is weird, however.
}A noun with -'e' can clearly act as object or subject, but I can't figure
}out if it can be an "extra" noun also. I've looked through TKD, and it
}doesn't look like it, but I'm not yet convinced. This brings up the
}question of what the -'e' means when it is used on an extra noun.
}
}I suggest that (if it is even possible) it could sometimes be translated
}as "about". For example, the preferred way of saying "I dreamed about the
}book" is <jInajtaHvIS, paq vIqel>. I suggest that if -'e' is allowed on
}an "extra" noun, this could also be rendered <paq'e' jInaj>. <paq> is
}clearly not the object of <naj>; it's just floating there.
}
}This is likely just a pet theory of mine, and I would probably get blank
}stares if I used such constructions. Opinions?
Qov stares blankly. :)
A good observation, and something that everyone needs to realize: when a
noun has a type five suffix other than {-'e'}, you're right, it can't act as
subject or object. But we don't have any reason to assume this means that
{-'e'} has some meaning in addition to the very useful one given in the
book: pointing out the focus or emphasized noun in a sentence. We do it
with underlining, or voice stress, or the placement of profanity.
Duj'e' chIlpu' yaS jay'! - The officer has lost the frickin' *ship*!
Duj chIlpu' yaS'e' jay'! - The frickin' *officer* has lost the ship!
Duj'e' chIlpu' yaS'e' jay'! - The frickin' officer has lost the damn ship!
Note that it's the {jay'} that gives these sentences their invective
strength. {-'e'} just tells us where to put the stress.
Also (and this isn't in the book but as postulated by Qanqor and given the
nod by Okrand):
Duj chIlpu'bogh yaS'e' vIbIj - I punished the officer who had lost the ship.
Duj'e' chIlpu'bogh yaS vISam - I found the ship the officer lost.
Qov [email protected]
Beginners' Grammarian