tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Aug 18 13:51:25 2002

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: Why do type 6s come before type 7s?

 > the tkd terminology says "you can't say this, because you can't." or
 > "you can't say this because 7 is greater than 6." that's no
 > explanation. i would like to have an explanation that explains
 > instead of saying "correct" and "incorrect". i want to understand the
 > grammar, not just immitate it.

Here is an example in English, my native language, that closely parallels 
the Klingon rules for suffix ordering.  Modify the noun "shoes" with the 
following words:

two blue my ballet little favourite

Most English speakers will produce:

my two favourite little blue ballet shoes

Now, why did you put the words in that order?

What's wrong with "favourite ballet two my blue little shoes"?

Most native English speakers don't even know.  It just sounds 
stupid.  People who have learned English as a second language know some 
rules, where modifiers are grouped into different classes, possessive, 
number, type, colour, and some adjectives have separate rules.  Doesn't 
that sound like Klingon?

I suspect that Klingon native speakers would be astonished if you told them 
that they had nine types of verb suffix and that there was a specific 
order.  The Klingons just put -chu' after -moH because it "sounds stupid" 
the other way.

Does that help?  The rules and number are a way to describe correctly 
spoken Klingon, not a recipe that native Klingon speakers follow.

Back to archive top level