tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Feb 08 13:05:55 1999

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RE: KLBC:Old message



: jatlh 'oghwI':
: > I was going through the archives of messages from the list 
: > (Sep, 4th 1998) when I found a message from you.  At the 
: > end you said:
: >> 	DaHjaj pablIj neH vIqel jIH
: > I've translated this as "Today I only consider your grammar."
: > 
: > I was just wondering why you put the <jIH> on the end, as 
: > <vIqel> already contains the "I" that <jIH> is adding.
: 
: The <jIH> was added for emphasis. Today, *I* only considered your grammar.
: Others may have done other stuff.
: 
: pagh

pagh is of course correct in his explanation of the grammar, but I think he didn't really think through his original post.  I have a stylistic quibble.  Using two types of emphasis in one sentence is confusing:

	DaHjaj pablIj neH vIqel jIH	
	Today, only I considered only your grammar.

What are you really stressing here?  The way it's written, the main emphasis seems to be (at least to me and 'oghwI') on {pablIj}: I only considered your *grammar* (not your literary style, choice of words, spelling, Klingon spirit, etc.) with perhaps a secondary emphasis on {jIH}.  If you really want to stress the subject - I and no one else will be doing this - you'd either need to omit {neH}:

	DaHjaj pablIj vIqel jIH
	Today *I* will be the one considering your grammar

(i.e. "I am the one who does this", "it's my job and no one else's"), or move {neH} after {jIH}:

	DaHjaj pablIj vIqel jIH neH
	I am the only one who'll consider your grammar today.
	I and I alone am the one who'll discuss your grammar today.

... since it's a KLBC post, all others are forbidden to comment before the BG; they'll just have to wait until tomorrow.  This adds even more emphasis to {jIH}, though it may be overkill.  Looking at my notes, however, I can find only one case where Okrand adds any additional emphasis when he uses {neH}, {jay'} or {-'e'}:

	not qoHpu''e' neH ghIjlu' 
	Only fools have no fear.  TKW

Here {-'e'} and {neH} both emphasize the very same noun.  Emphasizing more than one thing in a sentence rather defeats the point: if everything is emphasized, nothing is really emphasized.  

Of course, EMPHASIZING EVERY D**N THING YOU SAY at *full* volume is *VERY* Klingon!


-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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