re: ghorghvaD 'oH

["Agnieszka Solska" <agnpau1@hotmail.com>]

Sean wrote:

>Hm, so much for having these thread off of their respective postings.

Hey! Look on the bright side! What might seem like an unnecessary detour may 
turn out to be an unexpected opportunity to look closer at yet another 
aspect of our beloved Hol. Hoch 'ebmey tIjon!

>Some things besides prototypical nouns can act like nouns.

You may be right, of course. We know, for instance, that {'Iv} and {nuq} are 
treated as nouns as far as verb prefixes are concerned (TKD, pp68 - 69). I'd 
be really pleased if they could take noun suffixes, as in:

     (?)'IvvaD lutvam DagonlI'?
      For whom are you writing this story?/
      Who are you writing this story for?

As for the other "question words" taking noun (or verb) suffixes,
I'm not in a position to argue either way: my knowledge of tlhIngan Hol is 
far too modest. It would be great if there were some canon examples to back 
the use of {ghorghvaD}.

Correct or not, I've been trying to decide how I would phrase a potential 
answer to the question in your {to'nech}. It would seem that only words and 
phrases refering to some moment in time can function as logical answers. 
Perphaps (and that's a big "perhaps") I could use
{-vaD} on a timestamp which is classified as a noun:

      (?)ghorghvaD 'oH?
       When is it for?

       (?)DaHjajvaD 'oH.
        It's for today.

       (?)cha'leSvaD 'oH.
        It's for the day after tomorrow.

But what could I use if the answer required an adverbial or a clause. 
Clearly I couldn't say:

     *DaHvaD 'oH.
      It's for right now.

     *jaghwI' vIHoHta'DI'-vaD 'oH.
      It's for when I have killed my enemy.

That's why, at least for the time being, I'd probably stick to some of my 
options. At least, it seems easier to come up with an answer.

     Q: ghorgh Dalo'nIS?
        When will you need to use it?

          or

     Q: ghorgh poQlu'?
        When will one require it?/When will it be required?

     A: DaHjaj vIlo'nIS.
        I will need to use it today.

     A: cha'leS vIlo'nIS.
        I will need to use it the day after tomorrow.

     A: DaH vIlo'nIS.
        I need to use it now.

     A: jaghwI' vIHoHta'DI' vIlo'nIS.
        I will need to use it when I have killed my enemy.

Anyway, your translations of "Oblique Strategies" are certainly giving me a 
lot to think about. qatlho'.

'ISqu'


_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: 
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx