tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Oct 28 10:44:22 2009
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Re: intuition and grammar (was Re: Ditransitive reflexives)
If speakers are  allowed to add their own grammar into the language, doesn't that defeat the purpose of speaking the native language of the Klingons?  I don't know if I should be saying anything considering my n00b status but I just couldn't help but seeing that.  I know that in any other language grammar is set in stone and never changed.
Just my two cents
----- Original Message -----
From: "ghunchu'wI'" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:56:26 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: 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 Â
> the culture of tlhIngan Hol if there is found an area of the Â
> grammar that seems problematic and/or just missing and the fluent Â
> speakers have an intuition (generally agreed upon) about it?? Does Â
> that become another resource? Or are speakers not 'allowed' to add Â
> their own intuitions to the grammar?
Speakers can use whatever intuition or pet theories or personal Â
preferences they want. Â However, nobody here has the authority to add Â
anything to the grammar. Â If what someone says makes sense, others Â
are free to adopt its use as well. Â If it isn't in conflict with the Â
officially published rules of the language, it might even become Â
widely popular. Â Even so, there will usually be some who are more Â
conservative and resist trendy things until and unless they are Â
sanctioned by Marc Okrand.
The basic goal is for someone to be able to learn Klingon well using Â
only the published books as a resource. Â Where there's a hole in the Â
grammar (e.g. subjunctive), the basic advice is to avoid it, not to Â
fill it.
-- ghunchu'wI'