tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Nov 20 09:02:43 2007
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Re: nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e'?
>ja' Voragh:
> > The pronoun+{-taH} = "to be (located) somewhere" rule is not
> > explicitly stated by Okrand, but it is a pattern we've noticed
> > by examining his example sentences.
ghunchu'wI':
>The pattern I saw at first was this: {-taH} accompanies the pronoun-
>as-to-be when the sentence is describing a situation that could
>change without notice: {pa'DajDaq ghaHtaH la''e'} "The commander is
>in his quarters." It's an ongoing but mutable state. The suffix is
>absent when the situation is more permanent: {puqpu' chaH
>qama'pu''e'} "The prisoners are children."
I would have said their status is temporary: they weren't and won't always
be prisoners.
>Following this apparent pattern, {nuqDaq 'oH} is right for asking the
>location of a restroom in a building or the location of a good
>restaurant. {nuqDaq 'oHtaH} would be perfectly appropriate when
>referring to an already-known but mobile restroom or restaurant.
Possibly, although there are no known examples of {nuqDaq
[PRONOUN]taH}. {nuqDaq} is always used with a simple pronoun without
{-taH}. OTOH we do have this example:
nuqDaq So'taH yaS
Where is the officer hiding? TKD
This question also asks for a location, but not by using a pronoun.
>However, the {jengva'} and {vaS'a'} examples seem to go against this
>interpretation.
Another possible counter-example is this one referring to Deep Space Nine:
loS... qIb HeHDaq, 'u' SepmeyDaq Sovbe'lu'bogh lenglu'meH He
ghoSlu'bogh retlhDaq 'oHtaH
It waits... on the edge of the galaxy, beside a passage to
unknown regions of the universe. (DS99)
though I will concede that space stations move - they orbit planets and
they can be re-located, as in fact DS9 was when the Bajoran wormhole was
discovered - so perhaps this is not its permanent position.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons