tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Sep 18 20:27:41 2000
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RE: Daj (2)
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: RE: Daj (2)
- Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 23:25:14 -0400 (EDT)
lay'tel SIvten:
> "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".
Qov:
> 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."
nuqjatlh? /mIw/ is obviously a typo for /mIvDaq/. Is the second
sentence supposed to be intentionally erroneous, to show how
even *if* /Daj/ meant "to be *interested*", you would need
different grammar to make "to interest"? I read it as "The
merchant is causing the sergeant (in a helmet) to become
interesting" -- unless the /-moH/ isn't supposed to be there.
> 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".
DIvI' Hol ghojtaHbogh China-nganpu''e' law' vISov, 'ej pIj Qaghvam
luQagh.
I know a lot of Chinese for whom English is a second language,
and this is a common mistake.
--
De'vID
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