tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Jul 24 23:26:13 2005

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Re: comparative as question

MorphemeAddict ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol taghwI']

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In a message dated 7/21/2005 12:51:19 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
[email protected] writes:


> I see it as similar to the English
> >utterance "What do you want to drink, lemonade or beer?"
> 
> No.  Unlike English "what" and "where", {nuq} and {nuqDaq} can't be used as 
> a relative pronouns, only as as question words.  As a good rule of thumb, 
> if you can substitute "which" for "what" without changing the meaning - 
> e.g. "Which do you want, lemonade or beer?" - then "what" is a relative 
> pronoun and you don't use {nuq}.  


I disagree with the way you have stated this.  "Which" has more than one use. 
 It can be a demonstrative interrogative adjective (e.g., "Which table is 
larger?"), for which we cannot use {nuq}, and for which the imperative {yIngu'} 
makes a viable substitute, as well as being one of the relative pronouns 
('who(m)', 'which', 'that'; translated by {-bogh}), and which also cannot be 
translated by {nuq}.  In your example, "Which do you want, lemonade or beer?", 
"which" is the interrogative adjective, not the relative pronoun.  If it were a 
relative pronoun here, what would it refer back to?  

How's this:
"Is what (the thing which) you want lemonade , or is it the beer?"  
*lemonade* 'oH'a' Doch'e' DaneHbogh?  HIq 'oH'a'?


lay'tel SIvten

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