tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Apr 20 23:19:00 1999

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Re: Kahless the Unforgettable



qa'ral:
>> 2) How then would you say "for Kahless the Unforgettable" (using the 
>> preposition)?

Quvar muHwI':
>I would put the {-vaD} on the end of the whole thing: *qeylIS
>xxxxxxboghvaD*

No.  This has to be:

  qeylISvaD lIjlaHbe'bogh vay'
  "for Kahless, whom none can forget"

A verb plus {-bogh} is still a verb, and {-vaD} is a noun suffix. Only
{-wI'} and {-ghach} turn verbs into nouns.  (It is true that participles
can become substantives in some languages, but not in Klingon.)

  yIntaHvIS qeylIS'e' lIjlaHbe'bogh vay' batlh 'etlhvam chenmoHlu'pu' 
  this sword of honor descends from the time of Kahless the Unforgettable. S8 
 
Okrand put the noun suffix {-'e'} on the head noun to show that {qeylIS},
not {vay}, is the subject of {yIn}.  A better example comes from the proverb:

  quv Hutlh HoHbogh tlhIngan 'ach qabDaj 'angbe'bogh. 
  A Klingon who kills without showing his face has no honor. TKW

Notice that this is -not- *{qab 'angbe'boghDaj}.  The noun suffix {-Daj}
goes on the head noun {qab} to which {'angbe'bogh} refers.

-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons 



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