tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Mar 30 15:27:56 2004

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Re: it; SIS

Alan Anderson ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol po'wI']

[email protected] writes:
>
>> >in English: "It's clear to me that..." What is "It"? If you ask someone
>> >what
>> >"It" means in "It's clear to me that...", they'll probably stand there with
>> >a confused look for a while, then repeat their sentence.
>>
>> Isn't the "it" in that situation acting like an "inverse-<'e'>"?
>> It refers to the entire sentence after "that".
>>
>>
>the way i think of "it" in sentences like these is that it is (!) strictly a
>dummy subject for the verb when it would otherwise have none.  it has no
>reference at all, and doesn't mean anything.  it's role is strictly to
>fill the
>required grammar slot of subject.

No, De'vID has it (!) right.  The pronoun "it" in such sentences stands in
for the entire "that..." phrase which follows later.  Have a look at his
example:

>    "It is clear to me that (the sky is falling)", i.e.
>        "That (the sky is falling) is clear to me"

>klingon doesn't do this, of course, since its
>verbs do not require explicit subjects.

Unless you use the {-lu'} suffix, Klingon sentences always have subjects,
whether they are made explicit or not.

>the subject of "SIS" (the sky?) may
>be so self-evident that it is unnecessary in ordinary use.

Yes, that's exactly how Marc Okrand's explanation was reported to us:
|SISlu', altho grammaticlly correct, he didn't particularly like.  Someone
|COULD use it but to me it sounds like they skipped science class and don't
|know what the subject is.

-- ghunchu'wI'

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