tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri May 21 10:48:36 1999
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Re: vatlhvI'
DloraH asked:
: which side of the noun does "percent" go?
Okrand has used it once, when Klaa commanded the helm in ST5:
cha'maH vagh vatlhvI' Hong. QIt yIghoS!
Slow to one quarter impulse power. [punctuation uncertain]
(lit. "25 percent impulse power. Proceed slowly!")
NUMBER + {vatlhvI'} would seem to precede the noun, like other counted nouns.
Thus we would say (based on this single example):
cha'maH vagh chab
"25 pies"
cha'maH vagh vatlhvI' chab
25% of the pie (i.e. one quarter of a single pie)
I'm uncertain about this next example with a plural noun:
?cha'maH vagh vatlhvI' chabmey
25% of the pies (i.e. 1 out of 4 pies)
N.B. Some Klingonists disagree with this analysis, feeling that standard helm
commands may be abbreviated or clipped. I don't believe that Okrand has ever
discussed percentages directly.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons