tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Dec 06 18:02:23 1999
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Re: Klingon Komparative/KLBC
charghwI':
> You are forgetting the Q in:
> A Q law' B Q puS.
> A is Qer than B.
> There has to be some verb of quality being used here. You don't
> have one. That's why I had the problem in the first place. The
> verb {Sov} is not a verb of quality, and if you meant to use
> {Sov} as the noun "knowledge", then you still don't have a verb
> of quality.
quljIb:
: I'm trying to express this statement: "Your knowlege is greater than mine,
: and Maltz knows more than all of us."
SovlIj Dun law' SovwIj Dun puS, 'ej matlh Sov Dun law' maH Hoch Dun puS.
You might prefer {qaq} "be preferable, {QaQ} "be good", {Doj} "be
impressive" or {nIv} "be superior", etc. to {dun} "be great/wonderful".
You might get some argument on {maH Hoch] for "all of us", but I think it
works. Cp. {no'lIj Hoch} "all of your ancestors" in:
targhlIj yab tIn law' no'lIj Hoch yabDu' tIn puS
Your targ has a bigger brain than all your ancestors put together! PK
: I wasn't certain <Sov> could be used as a noun. (It's not listed as such
: in my copy of TKD.)
It is if you have the 2nd (1992) edition with the white cover -- in the
Addendum glossary (p.184). You gotta remember to check that Addendum!
: I was under the impression that one could compare two sentences/clauses.
Sort of; at least you can often translate it into English using two
clauses. The trick is choosing the right nouns to compare. For example:
QamvIS Hegh qaq law' torvIS yIn qaq puS
Better to die on our feet than live on our knees. ST6
"Dying while standing is preferable to living while kneeling." TKW
[lit. "Life while standing is preferable to death while kneeling."]
N.B. This is a proverb using unusual, possibly archaic, grammar. In modern
standard {ta' Hol}, this would be: {QamtaHvIS Hegh qaq law' tortaHvIS yIn
qaq puS}.
A {law'/puS} comparative can also form part of a another, longer clause.
In the following I've <bracketed> the formula to help you see its role in
the clauses:
qIbDaq SuvwI' <SoH Dun law' Hoch Dun puS>
You would be the greatest warrior in the galaxy. ST5
reH latlh qabDaq <qul tuj law' Hoch tuj puS>
The fire is always hotter on someone else's face. PK
tlhutlhmeH <HIq ngeb qaq law' bIQ qaq puS>
Drinking fake ale is better than drinking water. TKW
noH ghoblu'DI' <yay quv law' Hoch quv puS>
In war there is nothing more honorable than victory. TKW
tlhIngan wo' yuQmey chovlu'chugh <Qo'noS potlh law' Hoch potlh puS>
The principal planet of the Klingon Empire, Qo'noS... S27
And if you want to get really fancy:
DujvamDaq <tlhIngan nuH tu'lu'bogh pov law' Hoch pov puS> 'ej DujvamDaq
<'op SuvwI' tu'lu'bogh po' law' tlhIngan yo' SuvwI' law' po' puS>
It [IKV Pagh] has the best weapons and some of the finest warriors in
the Klingon fleet. S7
This one even uses {law'} "be many" to modify one of the noun phrases
within a {law'/puS} formula. Don't try this at home!
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons