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 


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