tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Mar 05 08:23:28 1998

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Re: KLBC: SIS voDleH

Qov writes:

: Jaime wrote:
: }something came up in my thlingan Hol class tonight that we weren't sure
: }about, so I thought i'd throw it to the linguist-wolves ;)  Well, really a
: }couple of things.

You're actually taking a class in tlhIngan Hol?  Fascinating.  Tell us about
it.  Who teaches it?  How many students are there?  Most of us have learned
this language by self-study.

: }First, can you use the noun-noun construction to say "Arthur, King of the
: }Brittons"  (That is, brItanpu' voDleH)?  That is, he is the 'owner' of his
: }subjects;  if not, what would work better?
: 
: That is a definite use for the noun-noun construction.  It actually implies
: that his subjects own him, but the do in the same sense that Elizabeth II is
: "my" Queen.  

In a N1-N2 construction, the 1st noun doesn't actually own the 2nd, it
merely modifies it.  For example, {yejquv DevwI'} means "Leader of the High
Council" - which leader? the High Council's leader.  Or {tlhIngan Hol} -
which language? the Klingons' language ({-pu'} being omitted).  It's very
productive and is also used for legitimate ownership statements: {worIv
betleH} "Worf's bat'leth".  English often uses the same N1-N2 construction
in lieu of an adjective, e.g. "computer system".
 
: }Also, the -wI suffix implies 'the person who does that thing' (as in a
: }baHwI').  so a meQwI' would be someone who burns things, no?  And so how
: }would you say "the person who burns this _specific_ thing?  verenganpu'
: }meQwI'?
: 
: This would be ambiguous.  It could be a Ferengi arsonist, or it could be a
: burner of Ferengis, or even a thing, a flamethrower designed for use on or
: by Ferengi.

Nice image.  In KCD there is the equally ambiguous {romuluSngan Sambogh 'ej
HoHbogh nejwI'} "Romulan hunter-killer probe".  In the game, this refers to
a hunter-killer probe of Romulan design or manufacture, but it can equally
mean a probe that hunts down and kills Romulans.  I imagine Klingons enjoy
this sort of double entendre.
 
: }and, out of curiosity, if my simple questions (in english no less :)
: }haven't annoyed you already, is there a noun form of SIS and what's the
: }name of the ferengi homeworld?
: 
: No known noun form of SIS.  The correct usage of the verb SIS is unknown and
: controversial.  And I have no idea what the verenganpu' call their world.

It was referred to once in one of the early DS9 episodes as Ferengar, but
has subsequently been called Ferenginar in more recent ones.
 
Voragh

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