tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 23 09:04:11 1998
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Re: je
Since Edy didn't flag this "KLBC", I'll take a stab (!) at this:
Edy wrote:
: "The noun conjunction {je} has an additional function:
: when it follows a verb, it means "also, too". (TKD 55).
: But, if I say:
: "The boy is clever and his sister too"
: {val loDHom 'ej val be'nI'Daj je}
: Can the conjunction {je} follow the noun instead of verb?
For the meaning "also, too" {je} must immediately *follow the verb*; when it
follows a noun it has its usual meaning of "and" linking nouns.
: Or I must say {val loDHom be'nI'Daj je}.
No. This means "The boy and his sister are clever". While this means
basically the same thing, stylistically it is a bit different. If you really
want to add "and his sister too" as a sort of afterthought, try:
val loDHom 'ej val je be'nI'Daj.
literally: "The boy is clever and his sister is clever too"
You could also make this two separate sentences, dropping the {'ej}
altogether:
val loDHom. val je be'nI'Daj.
literally: "The boy is clever. His sister is clever too."
Note that both of these should best be translated colloquially, omitting the
second "clever": "The boy is clever and his sister too", "The boy is clever
and
so is his sister", etc.
You always want to choose the smoothest possible translation -- at least for a
"literary" translation -- and avoid "translatorese", or what some of us on the
list call "Klinglish" (i.e. English words in an awkward Klingon syntax).
Over-literal translations really only belong in the elementary language
classroom to show your teacher you understand the underlying Klingon grammar.
The goal is learning to write good, natural Klingon or "Federation Standard"
(English... or Portuguese in your case!).
: And an other sentence, pehaps a bit ambiguious:
: {pu'HIch qengtaHbogh 'avwI'vaD taj nob loDHom 'ej jIH je}
: "The boy gave the knife to the guard which is carring the
: phaser pistol and me too"
I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say. What does "and me too"
mean here? Did the boy give me to the guard in addition to the knife? Did
the
boy also give the knife to me? But how can he give a knife (as a gift?) to
two
people? Or did the boy knife ({DuQ} "stab") both me and the guard? (A
distinct possibility, actually, considering we're talking about Klingons
here!
Perhaps this is a {qutluch tay} or "Kut'luch Ceremony" of initiation?)
_________________________________________________________________________
Voragh "Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons lis est." Horace (Ars Poetica)