tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jul 07 22:30:07 2000
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Re: -law'
> Immediately after the {DaSovbej'a'} comes {bISuDrup'a'}, intended as "Are
> you prepared to take that chance?" Again, something lets {-rup}, a
> nominally subject-applicable suffix, connect to the object instead. I can
> follow the logic of {-'a'} being that something.
I'm not sure I follow this. How does something connect /-rup/ to an object?
All I see is this:
jISuDrup.
I am prepared to take a risk.
bISuDrup.
You are prepared to take a risk.
bISuDrup'a'?
Are you prepared to take a risk?
This seems pretty straightforward to me. Am I missing some subtle
connotation?
There is a possibility for /-'a'/ that I just thought of, though it's not a
particularly good one. The answer to a question with /-'a'/ is /HIja'/ or
/ghobe'/. In any case, you can repeat the verb.
yIHmey DaghIj'a'?
Are you transporting tribbles?
HIja'. yIHmey vIghIj.
Yes, I'm transporting tribbles.
ghobe'. yIHmey vIghIjbe'.
What if the /-'a'/ is asking "is the verb I've used [not counting prefixes,
I suppose] a good indication of the truth?" In the case of /DaSovbej'a'/,
it would mean "Is /[vI]Sovbej/ an accurate way to describe the situation?"
The officer might have answered /HIja'. vISovbej/, and we'd have no problem
with this sentence's meaning.
Think of it like this:
Da-"Sovbej"-'a'?
Like I said, not a very good explanation, but I think it's a possibility.
In any case, it doesn't explain the question of /-law'/.
SuStel
Stardate 518.1