tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Nov 09 00:22:40 2002
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]
Re: KLBC: Worst Case Scenarios
>maQ wrote:
>>SopmeH joch'a'?
>>Is this harmful to eat?
At 04:21 PM 11/8/2002 -0600, Voragh wrote:
>For who to eat? Remember, you can conjugate a {-meH}'ed verb:
>
> vISopmeH joch'a' Sojvam?
> Is this food harmful for me to eat (it)?
>
> vISopmeH joch'a'?
> Is it harmful for me to eat (it)?
>
>Although this sounds a little awkward in English, it's perfectly fine in
>Klingon.
In my opinion, using {-meH} with {joch} here sounds odd. Your English
translation (Is this food harmful for me to eat?) sounds okay, but to me,
the Klingon version doesn't.
Reading over section 6.2.4 of TKD, the bottom of page 64 says:
If an action is being done in order to accomplish something, ...the verb
describing what is to be accomplished ends with... {-meH}.
The food isn't being harmful so that I eat it. If anything, I would say:
{vISopmeH jochbe''a' Sojvam?} "Is the food being harmless/not harmful, so
that I [can] eat it?"
However, this still sounds like the food has some sort of motive, and
chooses to be harmless.
>>joch'a' Sojvam?
>>Is this food harmful?
I prefer this version, rather than the {-meH} one.
>Good. Another way is to make an action verb out of the quality by adding
>{-moH} "cause". E.g.:
>
> mujochmoH'a' Sojvam?
> Will this food harm me?
>
> vISopchugh mujochmoH'a'?
> Will it harm me if I eat it?
Hmmm, in this case, I don't think this works.
Remember, {joch} is "be harmful", and not "be harmed". So {jochmoH} would
be "cause to be harmful":
mujochmoH'a' Sojvam?
Will this food cause me to be harmful?
vISopchugh mujochmoH'a'?
Will it make me harmful if I eat it?
So your sentences might describe a potent liquor that makes me very drunk,
roudy, and harmful to others:
muchechmoH'a' HIqvam HoSghaj?
muvIDmoH'a' HIqvam?
mujochmoH'a' HIqvam?
And, have fun with another similar example:
muHe'So'moH'a' qurghvam?
;-)
- taD