tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Jun 17 19:35:31 2000

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Re: A grammar question...

ghItlh SuStel:
> jatlh DujHoD:
>  > Your conclusion is, of course, valid, but I'm not sure about your
>  > reasoning. I don't think juDmoS was trying to use the noun-noun
>  > construction in this situation. The noun-noun construction is used only
>  > for possession (qar'a'?). I think juDmoS was simply using a sentence
>  > fragment here. For example, in the sentence
>  >      tachDaq chom vIghom.
>  > the phrase {tachDaq chom} is obviously legal. This is not an example of
>  > the noun-noun construction -- it is simply a fragment.
>  
>  I really hate this argument, for two reasons.  First, someone always uses 
it
>  to justify what really is a noun-noun construction.  juDmoS clearly wanted
>  to say "Brothers in battle" as an appelation, as a unit, not as two 
separate
>  elements broken off of a sentence.
>  
>  TKD p. 30 explains what the noun-noun construction is for: "It is possible
>  to combine nouns in the manner of a compound noun to produce a new 
construct
>  even if it is not a legitimate compound noun."
>  

I agree with SuStel completely.  DujHoD errs in trying to define the noun-noun
construction simultaneously too narrowly (considering it only to show 
possession)
and too broadly (by trying to allow a Type 5 suffix to sneak in there).

Actually, the N1-N2 construction shows what Holtej calls (in HolQeD v3n3) the 
Genitive relationship, which is considerably broader in application than 
simple
ownership.  Basically, N1 modifies N2 in some way.  This can include the 
notion
of ownership, but it also covers relationships like origin, purpose and
composition.  What it doesn't do is allow you to use an N1 with a suffix, 
because
a noun plus a suffix is no longer simply a noun (it becomes an adverbial, 
basically, although MO doesn't call it that, and in Klingon, adverbials 
modify sentences,
not nouns).

-- ter'eS

http://www.geocities.com/teresh_2000

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