tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Sep 22 08:57:29 2004

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Re: Skype yISuq!

Lieven L. Litaer ([email protected])

• From: "Lieven L. Litaer" <[email protected]>
• Subject: Re: Skype yISuq!
• Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2004 17:57:52 +0200
• In-reply-to: <[email protected]>
• Organization: qepHom.de
• References: <[email protected]> <[email protected]>
• User-agent: Opera7.11/Win32 M2 build 2887

Am Wed, 22 Sep 2004 10:10:19 -0500 hat Steven Boozer 
<[email protected]> geschrieben:

> Quvar:
>> > ghogh jonmeH jan lo''a' mIwvam (skype) qoj ghogh HablI'na' lo''a'?
>> >   [....]

I didn't write this, that was morphemeaddict, but I would have written the 
same way.

> Agreed.  His recast is understandable, if needlessly redundant.  Why 
> can't you say:
>
> ghogh jonmeH jan, ghogh HablI'na' qoj lo''a' mIwvam (skype)?

Because the answer to a yes/no question is "yes" or "no".

To avoid this problem, one should say something in the form

jan'e' lo'bogh mIw yIngu'.

> Sure it is.  Using {-'a'} makes it a yes/no question:
>
> qa'vIn Dargh ghap DaneH?
> Do you want either coffee or tea?

Your example is missing the {-'a'} suffix.
Obviously, you need more qa'vIn this morning!  :-)

> HIja'.
> Yes.  (I want either coffee or tea.)

> ghobe'.
> No.  (I don't want either coffee or tea. )

This shows that "yes" or "no" is a very ambiguous answer, and does not 
answer what the questioner wants to know.

> HIja', qa'vIn vIneH.
> Yes, I want coffee.
>
> HIja', Dargh vIneH.
> Yes, I want tea.

That's the answer one would expect when asking "want coffee or tea?"

Dargh qa'vIn je vIghaj. Soj DaneHbogh yIngu'!

Quvar.

• References:
  • Re: Skype yISuq!
    • From: [email protected]
  • Re: Skype yISuq!
    • From: Steven Boozer <[email protected]>

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