tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 18 12:32:46 2001
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RE: "About" and "too"
DloraH, BG:
: > Also, how do you say that something is too [whatever], as in
: > It is too cold," or "It is too dangerous," etc.?
:
: tlhoy (adverb) - overly, to an excessive degree, excessively, too much.
: 'Iq (verb) - be too much, be too many.
For those interested in the details, here's the text of Okrand's comments in
HolQeD (September 1999):
It is used in such sentences as {tlhoy jISop} "I eat too much, I eat
excessively" {tlhoy bIQong} "you sleep too much, you sleep excessively."
When {tlhoy} is used, it denotes that the action expressed by the
verb is what is being overly done or done too much. Thus the sentence:
{tlhoy qagh vISop} "I eat too much gagh, I eat gagh excessively, I
overeat gagh" expresses the notion that the eating is excessive, not
that the amount of gagh is. (Note that although it is possible to say
this, it is not something anybody would be likely to ever say.)
Similarly, {tlhoy yIHmey vIlegh} "I see too many tribbles" means "I
overly see tribbles" (perhaps this could be used if one meant something
like "I see tribbles far too frequently and in far too many places").
To express the idea of "too much gagh" or "too many tribbles," the
verb {'Iq} "be too many, be too much" is used adjectivally. For example:
{yIHmey 'Iq vIlegh} "I see too many tribbles." {qagh 'Iq vISop} "I eat
too much gagh." Sometimes, the word {law'qu'} "be very many" (formed
from {law'} "be many" plus {-qu'}, the emphatic suffix) is translated
"be too many." If the context is clear, this is acceptable, but if it
important to stress the idea of "overly many, overly much, more than
there ought to be," {tlhoy} or {'Iq} is usually employed."
Another example from the article is:
tlhoy Sop 'ach ghIq Qongchu'.
He/she eats too much, but then he/she sleeps soundly.
: MO gave us these words after KGT.
Okrand has wrangeled with the issue of "too" before his HolQed article. On
startrek.klingon (1/98) Okrand gave several options for "I was too late to
visit you":
jIpaSqu'mo' narghpu' qaSuchmeH 'eb
Because I'm very late, the opportunity to visit you has escaped.
qaSuch vIneH 'ach narghpu' 'eb. jIpaSqu'
I want to visit you, but the opportunity has escaped. I am very late.
qaSuchlaHbe'. jIpaSqu' vaj narghpu' 'eb
I cannot visit you. I am very late, thus the opportunity has escaped.
He comments:
{-qu'} is usually translated "very" or "extremely" or the like
(that is, {paSqu'} means "very late"), so if too late means very
late, all is well. But in the example sentence (I was too late to
visit you), the phrase "too late" doesn't mean very late; it means
excessively late or overly late. Thus using {paSqu'} might not be
the best course in the first place. It doesn't get across the idea
of going beyond some cutoff point.
Another example with {-qu'} comes from the list of useful expressions in TKD:
tujqu'choH QuQ
The engine is overheating.
literally: "The engine is becoming very/extremely hot", i.e. "too hot". And
yet another comes from "Conversational Klingon":
tera'nganvaD romuluS HIq jabQo'. HoSghajqu'.
They won't serve Romulan ale to Terrans. Too potent.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons