tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Dec 01 12:49:57 2009

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: Double negatives

David Trimboli ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol po'wI']

Steven Boozer wrote:
> ghunchu'wI':
>>> My answer to Blake should be uncontroversial: Klingon as we see it
>>> used does not "do" double negatives. Whether or not it might be able
>>> to in some hypothetical dialect is unimportant to the fact that it
>>> *doesn't* in the dialect we study.
> 
> Although it's not quite what Blake had in mind, there is one type of double negative which I don't believe has been mentioned so far:  whenever one of the "negative verbs" - {Qoch} "disagree", {par} "dislike", {tung} "discourage", {Dach} "not pay attentive, be distracted", etc. - is used with a negative suffix:
> 
>   Qochbe'  "not disagree
>   parbe'   "not dislike"
>   tungbe'  "not discourage"
>   Dachbe'  "not not pay attentive, not be distracted"

These aren't double negatives in Klingon. {Qoch}, {par}, {tung}, and 
{Dach} are normal, "positive" states; {Qochbe'}, {parbe'}, {tungbe'}, 
and {Dachbe'} are simple negation of the positive states.

> Note that some of these verbs form their opposites with {-be'} (e.g. {Qochbe'} "agree") and some with {-Ha'} (e.g. {parHa'} "like", {tungHa'} "encourage").  Still others have completely unrelated antonyms.  

In general, the explanation of TKD should hold. {Qochbe'} means a lack 
of {Qoch}, or a lack of dislike. {tungHa'} means that someone was 
discouraged, or at least not encouraged, and then made encouraged.

{QochHa'} would mean someone was unhappy, or at least not actively 
happy, and then made to be happy. {tungbe'} means a lack of 
discouragement, but not necessarily encouragement, and the person was 
not necessarily feeling encouraged before.

-- 
SuStel
tlhIngan Hol MUSH
http://trimboli.name/mush

Back to archive top level