tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Feb 05 21:29:31 2001
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: Grammar musings for the day - poH mu'mey
ja' pagh:
>...If a <-meH> clause modifies a noun, and I want to add a number to
>that noun, does it go before or after the <-meH> clause? If I'm talking
>about four boy's knives, is it <loS ghojmeH taj> or <ghojmeH loS taj>? I
>can't come up with a strong rational argument either way, but the second
>just seems wrong.
I have the same gut reaction. My rationalization is that {ghojmeH taj} is
the thing being counted. {ghojmeH loS taj} feels like it's focusing on the
fact that it's *four* knives that are important for the purpose of learning.
>So I'll say <... 'ach wa'maH wa' bejmeH tupmey vIHutlh>.
I don't much like {bejmeH tupmey} here, though. A "minute for watching"
doesn't sound like quite the right concept. I'd use the phrase if I were
talking about a scheduled event, but not if I wanted to discuss having
insufficient time.
I'd rephrase the idea a bit:
{wa'maH wa' tupmey chIm vIghajbe'mo' vIbejlaHbe'}.
Maybe {tupmey chIm} is a bit idiomatic, though.
>...I
>suspect there is a verb meaning "have a duration of" out there somewhere,
>but perhaps time is treated differently.
I tend to think that Klingon does treat spatial and temporal concepts as
entirely distinct.
-- ghunchu'wI' 'utlh