tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Aug 06 06:36:54 1999
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Re: batlh pemugh!
- From: Carleton Copeland <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: batlh pemugh!
- Date: Fri, 6 Aug 1999 17:37:36 +-400
- Encoding: 81 TEXT
jatlh voqbe'wI':
> bIlugh 'e' vIHarbe'.
> IMHO one cannot reverse the meaning of a Klingon verb by just
> adding the -Ha' suffix, because the implication of -Ha' includes
> a change in state.
> vImuS I hate it
> vImuSHa' I used to hate it, but now i don't hate it anymore.
> AFAIK (I do not have my TKD with me right now) -Ha' is translated
> *undo*...
This has been a hot topic on the list in recent months, and as I've been
one of the main troublemakers, I thought I'd attempt an answer. (If I
screw up, the pabpo'pu' will have my heart on a plate, possibly seasoned
with ngat):
Some verbs, when <-Ha>-ed, seem to represent clear cases of undoing:
"Something that was previously done is now undone" (TKD). E.g.:
chu' - activate
chu'Ha' - deactivate
nob - give
nobHa' - give back
Sop - eat
SopHa' - vomit
tIj - board
tIjHa' - get off
tuQmoH - put on (clothing)
tuQHa'moH - take off (clothing)
You do have to board a ship before you can disembark. However, there's a
larger group of verbs (and adverbials) which do not necessarily involve the
reversal of a prior state. HoD Qanqor in a recent post listed some of
these:
par - dislike
parHa' - like
lob - obey
lobHa' - disobey
bel - be pleased
belHa' - be displeased
tung - encourage
tungHa' - discourage
yep - be careful
yepHa' - be careless
naD - praise, commend, approve
naDHa' - discommend, disapprove
matlh - be loyal
matlhHa' - be disloyal
[Continuing to quote the illustrious HoD:]
"In all of these, a meaning of opposite-of is clearly plain...
You don't have to first be loyal in order to be disloyal...
Frankly, there are more of this kind of meaning for -Ha'
in the dictionary entries than of any OTHER meaning."
(/tlhIngan-Hol/1999/Jul99/0365.html)
Whether these "Do the opposite of" meanings are what MO really had in mind
when he wrote "undo" or, as I have argued, they represent a distinct, third
sense of the suffix is an unresolved issue.
Ever thought of changing your name to voqHa'wI'?
qa'ral