tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Feb 23 20:56:21 1999

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Re: -bogh and -ghach



ja' T'Lod:
>2. How should -ghach be translated?  We have naDHa'ghach - dicommendation, so
>can I assume that naQHa'ghach means incompletion?

I have found that I can usually translate {-ghach} using the English
gerund-forming suffix "-ing".  It generally ends up referring to the
process described by the noun plus other suffixes, and that fits the
gerund idea well, as long as you recognize that it's a noun and not
a similar-looking progressive verb form.  The English "-tion" suffix
also works, but it seems misleading to me, as it might be interpreted
as talking about a general concept instead of an action.  {vItHa'ghach}
can be translated "deception", but it should probably refer to the act
of the one not telling the whole truth rather than the idea of telling
an untruth.

Using "-ing" as a formulaic translation for {-ghach} often yields some
really stilted results, though.

naQHa'ghach - an uncompleting, a miscompleting
chenmoHghach - a causing to take form, a making
DoqchoHghach - a changing to be red, a reddening

-- ghunchu'wI'




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