tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Oct 28 05:02:51 2009
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intuition and grammar (was Re: Ditransitive reflexives)
On Oct 28, 2009, at 3:48 AM, eric mead wrote:
> And that actually brings me to my larger question. What happens in
> the culture of tlhIngan Hol if there is found an area of the
> grammar that seems problematic and/or just missing and the fluent
> speakers have an intuition (generally agreed upon) about it?? Does
> that become another resource? Or are speakers not 'allowed' to add
> their own intuitions to the grammar?
Speakers can use whatever intuition or pet theories or personal
preferences they want. However, nobody here has the authority to add
anything to the grammar. If what someone says makes sense, others
are free to adopt its use as well. If it isn't in conflict with the
officially published rules of the language, it might even become
widely popular. Even so, there will usually be some who are more
conservative and resist trendy things until and unless they are
sanctioned by Marc Okrand.
The basic goal is for someone to be able to learn Klingon well using
only the published books as a resource. Where there's a hole in the
grammar (e.g. subjunctive), the basic advice is to avoid it, not to
fill it.
-- ghunchu'wI'