tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Mar 05 23:36:38 2004
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<<'e'>> DIpvaD tammey je
- From: "QeS lagh" <[email protected]>
- Subject: <<'e'>> DIpvaD tammey je
- Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 17:35:58 +1000
- Bcc:
tlhob Dar'Qang:
>It's not clear to me from the description whether or not the
>previous-sentence pronoun 'e' can
>be used in a to-be construction. Example:
>Duj vIQaw' 'e' 'oH qech'e' vIqelbogh.
>"The idea that I am considering is to destroy the ship."
Literally "I destroy the ship. That is the idea which I consider". It seems
logical in both original Klingon and English translation, and as far as I
have seen, the pronoun-as-verb construct is a full-fledged verb (albeit an
"irregular" one).
This is evidenced by the usage of:
- aspect suffixes ({-taH} is attested in canon, but Voragh and I have
both toyed with the idea of possibly using {-pu'} as well);
- attitude suffixes ({-bej} and {-chu'});
- the negating suffix {-be'};
- IIRC, also the relativiser {-bogh}.
I can't think of any reason why pronouns might be able to take verb suffixes
but not the other features that a Klingon verb normally has (excepting
pronominal prefixes, because that information is contained within the
pronoun and is therefore unnecessary).
Since there's no explicit canon that I can think of to support the idea,
though (Voragh, can you help me on this?), it might be better just to say
{Duj vIQaw' 'e' vIqel} "I am considering destroying the ship". By the same
token, the verb-centric grammar of Klingon might well frown on having a
pronoun-as-verb as the main verb in a sentence as complex as this and, quite
frankly, it grates on my ear a little bit. But that might just be me; I try
not to use the pronominal verb in anything much more complex than {tlhIngan
maH}. {{:D If I saw {Duj vIQaw' 'e' 'oH qech'e' vIqelbogh} in a piece of
connected Klingon text, I don't think I'd have a real problem with
understanding it.
Savan.
QeS lagh
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