tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Sep 30 21:03:34 2000
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Re: moHaq Dup (was KLBC)
ja' "Joseph" <[email protected]>:
>1. I'm not comfortable with accepting the explanation that a usage
>doesn't "feel right", thought I'm familiar with the sentiment (e.g.
>"the white big dog" vs "the big white dog" in English - the average
>speaker of English cannot tell you why these seem wrong). I can
>accept astatement that the pronoun trick is never used with stative
>verbs, thought I'd be left wondering how that decision came about
The closest thing we have to an "official" explanation of the prefix trick
(a post from Marc Okrand in the msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand MSN
newsgroup back in June of 1997) strongly implies that there must already be
an explicit third-person object in order for the prefix which indicates
first- or second-person object to be interpreted as applying to the
indirect object instead. That would leave out verbs of quality, as they
never have objects in the first place.
>2. Now I'm wondering whether the pronoun-trick isn't part of
>"common" usage at all (if in deed one can apply the concept of
>"common ussage" to tlhIngan Hol at this time), and therefore I
>should avoid using it. I found it an interesting twist within the
>language, and at least in written form (I've yet to actually speak to
>anyone in Klingon) I have no problem understanding the meaning.
In "formal" usage, such as written communication on a mailing list intended
for many people to understand, I prefer to use rather conservative grammar.
In a face-to-face conversation with the added feature of real-time feedback
from the listener, I'll gladly take advantage shortcuts like the prefix
trick and clipped speech (and even in-jokes) when it's apparent that my
meaning is getting through.
-- ghunchu'wI' 'utlh