tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 22 14:36:01 2000

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Re: Grammar Highlight Each Day (Adjectivals)



ja' peHruS:
> Disclaimer:  I am not posting these as the authority on Klingon grammar.
> Marc Okrand, the author of the language, is the true authority.  Meanwhile,
> read his writings, including The Klingon Dictionary.

Hear, hear!  This disclaimer is much more straightforward than previous
ones.  It is clear and concise.  (As a bonus, it also accurately reflects
what I feel
is the true situation.)

> There are no adjectives as such in Klingon.  Those notions expressed as
> adjectives in English (such as big, tired) are expressed by verbs in Klingon
> (be big, be tired).  A verb expressing a state of quality can be used
> immediately following a noun to modify that noun.
>
> Examples:  puq Doy' = tired child
> (puq = child; Doy' = be tired)
>
> Dujmey tIn = big ships
> (Duj = ship, Dujmey = ships; tIn = be big)

majQa'!  With the minor exception of an apparent typographical error ("of"
instead of "or"), this agrees exactly with my understanding of what TKD has
to say about such usage.  (If you actually *did* mean "state of quality",
then I will retract my praise and ask you what that's supposed to mean.)

> Notice, too, that Marc Okrand does not use the word "adjectives," rather the
> word "adjectivals."  Webster:  adj. of the nature of an adjective; of an
> adjective."

This, however, is not correct.  TKD section 4.4 is even *titled*
"Adjectives".  Okrand doesn't give this use of verbs a special name; he
just refers to them as "verbs acting adjectivally".

. . .

Oh.

Oh, my.

I didn't remember seeing the word "adjectival" anywhere, so I just looked
through TKD to see whether it was there.  It's not, but I now understand
exactly why I thought the description given above was so good:

It is a word-for-word copy (with a single typographical error) of the first
part of TKD section 4.4, including the examples.

-- ghunchu'wI' 'utlh




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