tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Feb 10 09:56:46 1999
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Re: Emphasis
: >> 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}.
:
: Is that what pagh was saying? I read his sentence, correctly, as "Today *I*
: considered only your grammar." I don't recall exactly what he meant, but
: that's what he said. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Which is exactly my point: you're not sure what he means. (BTW, who says there's only one correct translation of a sentence from one language to another?)
: {neH} doesn't emphasize anything. After a noun it
: means "only," "only that noun and no other."
By you that's not emphasis? Consider:
1. pablIj vIqel. I'll consider your grammar.
2. pablIj neH vIqel. I'll consider only your grammar.
3. pablIj'e' vIqel. As for your grammar, I'll consider it.
4. pablIj'e' vIqel jay'! I'll consider YOUR GRAMMAR, dammit!
No. 1 is a neutral statement of fact with no element receiving any particulary emphasis.
No. 2 emphasizes, limits or focuses attention if you will, on *only* {pablIj}. It specifically raises the possibility that, although there are certainly other things I could be considering, right now I'll limit myself to just your grammar.
No. 3 also emphasizes, topicalizes or focuses attention on {pablIj}, but in a different way. Perhaps we had been discussing your grammar earlier but then we chatted about some other matters. But something just occurred to me now and I want to return to this previously mentioned topic.
Ditto for no. 4, which is now an expletive: Hey! Don't try to change the topic. You know very well that I'm here to talk about your grammar and by G-d that's exactly what I'm going to do!
You could probably come up with other contexts, each of which affects how you understand - and translate - the sentences.
: SuStel
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons