tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jan 27 10:23:28 1999

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Re: KLBC: Two IFs on one THEN?



I quoted MO:
:   qorDu' SaHlu'chugh 'ej matlhlu'chugh vaj wa' tlhIngan ghob
:   potlhqu' 
:   devotion and loyalty to family is one of the most important
:   Klingon virtues.  (SkyBox S13) 

peHruS:
: This is canon.  I cannot question its validity.
: I do have a question about understanding it just as it is composed.
: {vaj wa' tlhIngan ghob potlhqu'} seems to have a verb acting as an adjective
: (TKD 4.4).  But, I cannot find any word in this phrase acting as a main verb.

: Is this a new (?) construction showing that the entire phrase after {vaj} IS
: something?

Here is the entire text of the card, of which the bit I quoted was an extract:

 T.N.G. EPISODES SERIES (3rd SEASON): CARD S13
 (Published in HolQeD 4.3:5)

 tlhIngan qorDu' potlh   Klingon Family Values

 qorDu' lurDechmeyna' pab tlhInganpu'.  qorDu' SaHlu'chugh 'ej
 matlhlu'chugh vaj wa' tlhIngan ghob potlhqu'.  tlhIngan qorDu'
 pong potlh law' Hoch potlh puS.

 With strong family traditions, devotion and loyalty to family
 is one of the most important Klingon virtues. Above all, the
 Klingon family name is highly valued.

You're right, it does seem as if the line should read {... vaj potlhqu' wa'
tlhIngan ghob}.  Note that MO is using the *noun* {potlh} "consequential thing,
something important" in the title; if it were the verb, it would mean "an
important Klingon family".  FYI, here are other examples of {potlh} "be
important" in canon to compare:

 batlh potlh law' yIn potlh puS 
 Honor is more important than life. TKW

 potlhbe'chugh yay qatlh pe''eghlu' 
 If winning is not important, then why keep score? TKW

 tlhIngan wo' yuQmey chovlu'chugh Qo'noS potlh law'
 Hoch potlh puS. 
 The principal planet of the Klingon Empire, Qo'noS... S27

 nentay loptaHvIS tlhIngan potlh tlhIngan 'oy'naQ'e' 
 The Klingon Painstik is an important part of a Klingon's
 Age of Ascension ceremony. S32



-- 
Voragh                       
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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