tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Nov 08 20:15:02 1999
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Re: prefix trick = bad idea
Mark Okrand:
>> tIqwIj Sa'angnIS "I must show you [plural] my heart"
>> (tIqwIj "my heart," Sa'angnIS "I must show you [plural] it")
lay'tel SIvten:
>this trick leaves the real direct object hanging by itself with no link to
>the verb in the form of a prefix. indirect objects with no direct object
>can be handled this way with no loss of clarity, but even so, it looks to
>me like a major confusion in an area where there is already a lot of
>confusion. elegant simplicity has become tangled mess.
charghwI':
: It is not a tangled mess. It is perfect order expressed in a
: concise form.
Besides, if you don't like it, you can always speak more analytically:
tlhIHvaD tIqwIj vI'angnIS
"I must show my heart to you [plural]"
But even if you prefer not to use it, you still need to recognize it when
others do.
Personally, I like it. Two words is certainly more concise than three and
thus - to my thinking - more elegant. Since Klingon word order is rather
rigid, I like having options for variety. De gustibus non disputandum.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons