tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed May 28 13:16:20 2003

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Re: {vIH} "move, be in motion"?



DloraH:
> >> For one thing, you can't use a verb of action like /vIH/ as an adjective.
> >> Those have to be verbs of quality, like /moH/ "be ugly" or /Dun/ "be
> >> wonderful."
> >
> > vIH is "be in motion".  I can see vIH being a verb of quality, like 
> /mach/ "be
> > small", or /SuD/ "be green".  The english is definitely awkward, and 
> leaving
> > behind the english influence I can see this working, especially since it is
> > defined with "be".  MO has even said that in definitions like this, the 
> "move"
> > part is in there for the sake of being able to look up the word.
> >
> >   move, be in motion (v)               vIH
> >   ugly, be ugly (v)                    moH
> >   wonderful, be wonderful, great (v)   Dun

SuStel:
>I suppose it's possible.  Why then did Okrand use /vIHtaHbogh bIQ/ when he
>could have used ?/bIQ vIH/ in Power Klingon?  Not for the /-taH/, surely.
>That would make /vIH/ as an adjective nearly useless!  (Though, if it were
>for the /-taH/ only, we'd finally have concrete proof that you can't use
>/-taH/ on an adjectivally-acting verb.)
>
>And if you are correct, why isn't the definition of /vIH/ "motion, be in
>motion (v)"?
>
>My preferred interpretation is that /vIH/ means "move," in the sense of
>being in motion.  It is an action verb, not a quality verb.

Let's go to the source:

   vIH qagh!
   The serpent worms are moving! CK

   matay'DI' vIHtaHbogh bIQ rur mu'qaDmey.
   Between us, curses run like water. PK

   vIHtaH gho
   The hoop is moving. (idiom: "hurry up!") KGT

     The verb {vIH} ("move, be in motion") can be applied to any sort
     of motion. In this case, it refers to the motion associated with
     the hoop in this exercise, namely rolling. In the idiom, the verb
     occurs with the suffix {-taH} ("continuous"), implying that the
     hoop continues to roll for a period of time (though it will not
     do so forever). (KGT 111-12)

Looks to me like {vIH} is an action verb, not a quality.  Sustel's argument 
about {bIHtaHbogh bIQ} vs. ?{bIQ vIH} is convincing.  Okrand probably added 
"be in motion" to show that he meant the intransitive verb "move" -- the 
hoop moves/is moving, i.e. it does not move something else.



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons 



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