tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Jul 02 09:46:09 2002

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing



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

Re: beachquestion #4: two verbs



From: "Quvar valer" <[email protected]>
> {SuD 'ej wov paqwIj}
> "My book is bright and it is gyb"
>
> {SuD paqwIj 'ej wov}
> "It is bright and my book is gyb"

Keep in mind that when you're listening to this  in realtime, not
translating with it in text in front of you, you have to wait until the very
end to find out what the subject of these verbs is.

The English translations that would represent this are:

SuD 'ej wov paqwIj:

SuD
It is /SuD/

'ej wov paqwIj
And my book is bright.

SuD 'ej wov paqwIj
It is /SuD/ and my book is bright.

SuD paqwIj 'ej wov:

SuD paqwIj
My book is /SuD/.

'ej wov.
And it is bright.

SuD paqwIj 'ej wov
My book is /SuD/ and it is bright.


Now this probably isn't significant in the case of two simple verbs: you can
listen to them as a single "verb," /SuD 'ej wov/.

SuD 'ej wov paqwIj'
My book is /SuD/-and-bright.

You'd be able to parse this pretty easily when listening to it.

> {SuDbogh 'ej wovbogh paqwIj vIlaD}
> "I read my book wich is bright and which is gyb"

It starts to get a little longer here.  By the time you mention the subject
of the relative clause, you're pretty far into the sentence.  The listener
will have to wait, wait, wait unti you tell them what your subject is.  On
the other hand,

SuDbogh paqwIj 'ej wovbogh vIlaD.
The book which is /SuD/ and which is bright -- I read it.
(Again, this isn't the best English translation; it's the one that
represents how a listener would parse the Klingon sentence.)

> So theoretically, we could say things like
> {matlhbogh 'ej nongbogh 'ej SuDbogh 'ej vaQbogh SuvwI' vIlegh}
> "I see the warrior which is aggressive and which is green and which is..."

Theoretically, yes.  But what a horrible thing to do to your listener!

"I see <something> which is loyal and which is passionate and which is /SuD/
and which is aggressive (oh, he's a warrior) -- I see him."

Remember, Klingon sentences are NOT English sentences backward.  Only the
OVS structure is backward; if you string several clauses in a row, you're
going to be listening to them in the order they're said, not in reverse
order.

SuStel
Stardate 2501.3


Back to archive top level