tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jul 25 00:30:17 2001
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RE: Comments on the negation posting
- From: "Will Martin" <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: Comments on the negation posting
- Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 00:21:22 -0400
- Importance: Normal
- In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rohan Fenwick [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Monday, July 23, 2001 1:36 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Cc: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: Comments on the negation posting
>
>
> It's no problem at all, Daniela! I've made *many* such mistakes
> in my time
> on the list.
>
> AFAIK, a negation with no focus marker is, in essence, useless with no
> following context. If you say "Soj Sambe' puq" (Cf. Andrew Strader's mail
> about ambiguity - sent yesterday, I believe), as an isolated
> sentence, then
> your listener will not be able to understand completely your meaning.
I guess I'll look forward to seeing that. It doesn't seem especially
ambiguous.
> As you probably know, pronouns-as-verbs also take negation. I am
> unaware of
> any negative structures which cannot occur in Klingon - except for maybe
> those odd complex "almost-negations", like "I can hardly hear
> you". Maybe "I
> can almost not hear you", I don't really know.
{tlhoS qaQoylaHbe'.} That's more like "I almost cannot hear you" than like
"I can almost not hear you," which would instead be {tlhoS qaQoybe'laH},
which would tend to imply that I was trying to not hear you, but I failed.
> I'm also unsure on
> the future
> negative: "I couldn't possibly do that!" Can any listers who know
> expand on
> this, please?
Qu'vetlh vIta'laHbe'. DuHbe'. laH 'ut vIHutlh.
Maybe you are really referring to the negative irrealis, since there is no
irrealis in Klingon. "I wouldn't hurt you even if I could." You basically
have to recast it eliminating the problem grammar: {qarIQmoHlaHbej 'ach reH
qarIQmoHQo'.}
> Qapla' 'ej Satlho'
>
> ro'Han
charghwI'