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


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