tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Sep 18 19:36:30 2000

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Re: Daj (2)

ghItlh lay'tel SIvten
> "to be interesting" is intransitive and "to interest" is transitive; they 
> aren't equivalents at all.
>  
>  "to be interesting" is not just a verb; it's "to be" plus an adjective, 
and 
>  the adjective happens to be a form (present participle) of the transitive 
>  verb "to interest".   

The key phrase here is "happens to be".  It's just a twist of English that
this adjective comes froma participle.  Klingon does not have any separate
verbs to express concepts that are participles in English.  

Here's an example:

Daj Suy - "The merchant is interesting."

bu'vaD mIw DajchoHmoHlI' Suy - "The merchant is interesting the sergeant in
a helmet."

Yes, it's the same underlying verb, Daj.  But where in English the same
ending makes it an adjective and a participle, in Klingon you need
different grammar for each.

Is English your first language, SIvten?  The interest/be interesting
contrast in English seems to confuse a lot of non-native speakers.  I don't
know how many times I have heard sentences like "I am interesting in
swimming".  The person isn't trying to describe his bizarre backstroke,
simply trying to express an interest.  Using /Daj/ to mean "interested," or
"interest" is the same kind of error.

If English is your first language, and Klingon your second, then your
stumbling block may be expecting the same words in English to be
translatable by the same words in another language, every time they appear.
 
Qov

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