tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jul 01 09:20:17 2013

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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Hu vISuch

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



naHQun:
>> Hu maSuch qorDu'wI'.

De'vID:
> Aside from the fact that {wI-} should be used instead of {ma-} when the
> verb has an object, is the subject of this sentence actually "we", or is
> "my family" really an "it"?
> 
> I think it needs to be one of the following:
> Hu Such qorDu'wI'.  (It may be ambiguous with this sentence whether the
> speaker is included.) Hu wISuch jIH qorDu'wI' je.

Correct.  Collective nouns referring to groups of people are grammatically singular:

  vangDI' tlhIngan SuvwI' ngoy' qorDu'Daj; vangDI' qorDu'Daj
   ngoy' tlhIngan SuvwI' 
  The family of a Klingon warrior is responsible for his
   actions, and he is responsible for theirs. TKW

If {qorDu'} were plural, the first verb would be *{lungoy'} "they are responsible for him".

  DurIt tlhIngan yejquv 
  Summoned to the Klingon High Council. MKE

Note the verb preface {Du-} "he/she/it [does something to] you" not {nI-} "they [do something to] you".

But note the following example:

  juHqo'Daq vaS'a' tu'lu'. ngoch luchermeH 'ej wo' San luwuqmeH pa'
   ghom tlhIngan yejquv DevwI'pu'. 
  On the Homeworld, there is a great hall where the leaders of the
   Klingon High Council meet to determine policy and decide upon
   the fate of the Empire. S25

The subject of the 2nd Klingon sentence is the explicitly plural {DevwI'pu'} "leaders", which requires the prefix {lu-}.


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons




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