Re: Hech (was: Re: SajwIj)

["Sean Healy" <sangqar@hotmail.com>]

>Let's put it another way: to understand the meaning of Klingon words (not
>sentences, words), you MUST know what those words mean.  You must know
>precisely what /Qong/ means, and what /qIm/ means, and what /jeS/ means, 
>and
>what /Hech/ means.  HOW do you know what those words mean?  By their 
>English
>definitions.  Your entire understanding of the meanings of those words is
>based on what Okrand wrote in English.  As I said, this isn't a grammatical
>issue, it's one of meaning.  Go ahead, stick any old object onto /Hech/ . .
>. but wait!  Does it make SENSE?  That depends on what /Hech/ REALLY means.

Right.  It still bothers me, though, to be so dependent on English 
definitions.  When I was learning Finnish, the English definitions served as 
a starting point, but there was plenty of 'canon' (in the form of the native 
speakers around me all the time) that I was able to internalize meanings 
that were not based on the English definitions, but rather on the way native 
speakers actually used the language.  With Klingon, however, there's so 
relatively little canon (and so few native speakers!), that that is a much 
more difficult task to know what a word REALLY means.  You're right that we 
have to depend on the English translation, but as I said, that bothers me.  
Just one of the shortcomings of artificial languages, I suppose.

Whatever terms you choose to express it in, your arguments have convinced me 
that {Hech} can't be used with a noun object.

>SuStel
>Stardate 2045.7

-Sangqar


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