tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Feb 08 22:24:05 2004
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Re: nom ghel, nom jang
> > I *did* mean {-taH}. The process of acquiring a native/first language
> > takes years. It is an ongoing, continuing process. A child goes through
> > several phases - single-word utterances, holphrastic utterances, and so
> > on. It really is an ongoing process. And {-taH} here is better than
> > {-lI'} becuase the child isn't *trying* to learn the language; it just
> > happens.
>
> -lI' doesn't imply intent. It implies that there is a known ending point.
Or a known goal. A child has no goal at all, much less a known one. As I said, acquisition
just happens. If the child were trying to learn the language (like a second-language learner
is), then {-lI'} might be appropriate.
tlhIngan Hol vIghojlI' - There is a known goal (and presumably progress is being made
toward that goal)
Hol wa'DIch ghojtaH puq - There is no known goal, the learning is just happening.
Unlike -taH, however, -lI' implies that the activity has a known goal or a definite stopping point
(TKD 4.2.7 [p 43])
And I think that for sentient subjects, having a known goal implies intent, although I agree
that the intent is not what makes {-lI'} appropriate.
> DloraH
-Sangqar