tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Oct 01 15:21:11 2000

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing



[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: math questions



ja' De'vID:
>Can one chain math operations in Klingon?

ngeDqu'law'...wa' mu'tlhegh lo'lu' 'e' Daqapbe'chugh.

>I'm assuming that the
>math verbs (/boq/, etc.) follow the same grammar as other verbs.

What "etc." are you thinking of?  {boq} "ally with" is the only "math verb"
described in the recent HolQeD article.

>For example,
>
>1 + 2 + 3 = ...
>*/wej boq cha' boq wa'/ or
>*/wej boq cha' 'e' boq wa'/?

Neither of these follows the grammar as we understand it.  The first has
too many main verbs, and the second tries to ally a number with a sentence.

>Another interesting thing is that Klingon grammar seems to
>enforce a right-first interpretation, i.e.
>
>1 + 2 + 3 would be interpreted as 1 + (2 + 3), rather than
>(1 + 2) + 3 as in English/Earth mathematics.

qatlh De'qoqvam DaHar?

There's nothing in what Okrand said to suggest any grouping of operations.
Indeed, with the way Klingon grammar works, there cannot be any implicit
grouping.  Because {boq} is a verb, you can't use it twice in the same
clause.  You need to have separate sentences, or at least group things
explicitly using relative clauses.

ja' SarrIń:
>(2+5)*3
>wejlogh boq'egh vagh boqpu'bogh cha'.
>
>2+(5*3)
>cha' boq vaghlogh boq'eghpu'bogh wej.

Dajqu'.  boqbogh mI'mey tlham vIqelpu'DI', SIbI' mIwvam nIb vI'ogh.

-- ghunchu'wI' 'utlh




Back to archive top level