[91128] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: [Tlhingan-hol] paq'batlh no'Hol: QIch wabmey
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Agnieszka Solska)
Sun Dec 4 16:00:41 2011
From: Agnieszka Solska <agnpau1@hotmail.com>
To: tlhIngan Hol <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>, tlhIngan Hol mailing list
<tlhingan-hol@stodi.digitalkingdom.org>
Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2011 21:00:13 +0000
Errors-To: tlhingan-hol-bounces@stodi.digitalkingdom.org
QeS will doubtless correct me if I'm wrong or if I have omitted something.
In what follows:
- {no' Hol} linguistic material is marked with an asterisk,
- the ">" symbol means "changed into",
- sounds are represented with regular spelling, not with with phonetic
=A0 symbols,
- the question mark (?) indicates speculative statements.
VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS
In {no'Hol} there were five short vowels: [*a],[*e],[*i],[*o] and [*u],
(at least) two long vowels: [*oo] and [*aa],
and (at least) three diphthongs: [*ew], [*oy] and [*ay]. =
There may have been more long vowels and more diphthongs but they are not =
attested in the Prologue. =
All (attested) {no' Hol} vowels underwent a vowel shift, which yielded =
their present day values.
=A0=A0 (BTW I created a pdf file with a chart indicating the direction of =
=A0=A0 the vowel shift. It can be found at =
=A0=A0 =
=A0=A0 http://muchmich.yolasite.com/resources/Klingon%20vowel%20shift%20cha=
rt.pdf
=A0=A0 =
=A0=A0 Obviously, the positions of the {no' Hol} vowels in the chart are=A0 =
=A0=A0 speculative. I'm not even sure if I got the {ta' Hol} vowels right. =
If =
=A0=A0 you think something needs changing, please, let me know.)
"THE GREAT KLINGON VOWEL SHIFT": =
1. The high front vowel [*i] retracted to [u]:
=A0=A0 [*i]>[u], as in {*tlhip}>{tlhup}, {*qil}>{qul} =
2. The high back vowel [*u] lowered to [o]:
=A0=A0 [*u]>[o], as in {*lub}>{lob}, {*Dur}>{Dor}
=A0
3. The back mid vowel [*o] lowered and fronted to [a]:
=A0=A0 [*o]>[a], as in {*Doq}>{Daq}, {*jotlh}>{jatlh}
4. The low central vowel [*a] fronted and raised to [e]:
=A0=A0 [*a]>[e], as in {*Dya}>{je}, {*tyan}>{chen}
5. The front mid vowel [*e] raised to [I]:
=A0=A0 [*e]>[I], as in {*teq}>{tIq}, {*nev}>{nIv}
Three {ta' Hol} diphthongs emerged as the result of the vowel shift =
affecting the first element in the {no' Hol} diphthongs:
=A0=A0 [*ew]>[Iw], as in {*'ew}>{'Iw}
=A0=A0 [*oy]>[ay], as in {*moy'}>{may'}
=A0=A0 [*ay]>[ey], as in {*Dyay}>{jey}
6. [u] underwent elision after [sr]:
=A0=A0 [*u]>[0], as in {*bosru}>{baS}, {*-nesru}>{-nIS}
7. Long vowels were diphthongized:
=A0=A0 [*aa]>[ey], as in {*-maa}>{-mey}
=A0=A0 [*oo]>[aw], as in {*tungsroot}>{tongSaw'}, {'qoo}>{Qaw'}
Note that some instances of the {ta' Hol} [ey] diphthong seem to have
come from ['aa] and some from [*ay].
The sources of the remaining {ta'Hol} diphthongs, i.e. [ew], [Iy], [oy] =
and [uy], are not attested in the Prologue.
CONSONANTS
Some of the {no' Hol} consonants have been retained in {ta' Hol}, though it
cannot be ruled out that they were not exactly the same as their {ta' Hol} =
counterparts. It is also possible that some of them differed from their
{ta' Hol} counterparts in terms of their distribution (the set of contexts
in which they appeared):
The following appeared both in syllable initial and syllable final position=
s:
=A0=A0 [*v],=A0=A0 as in {*viv} =
=A0=A0 [*p],=A0=A0 as in {*pung}, {*tlhip}
=A0=A0 [*b],=A0=A0 as in {*beng}, {*lub} =
=A0=A0 [*t]=A0=A0=A0 as in {*tub}, {*-lit}
=A0=A0 [*l],=A0=A0 as in {*lil} =
=A0=A0 [*tlh], as in {*tlhengon}, {*jotlh}
=A0=A0 [*m],=A0=A0 as in {*-maa}, {*qom} =
=A0=A0 [*n],=A0=A0 as in {*nev}, {*'qin} =
=A0=A0 [*q],=A0=A0 as in {*qoD}, {*teq}
=A0=A0 [*w],=A0=A0 as in {*wob}, {*'ew}
=A0=A0 [*'],=A0=A0 as in {*-'ag'}, , {*qi'tu'}, verb prefixes: {*'e-}, {*'u=
-}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (Below I voice my doubts about {*qi'tu'} and=
{ba'})
The following may have had a restricted occurrence:
=A0=A0 [*ng],=A0 as in {*beng}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (no attested words with [*ng] in word initial p=
osition)
=A0
=A0=A0 [*r],=A0=A0 as in {*Dur}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (no attested words with [*r] in word initial po=
sition)
=A0=A0 [*j],=A0=A0 as in {*juq}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (no attested words with [*j] in word final posi=
tion)
=A0=A0 [*y],=A0=A0 as in {*Dyay}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (no attested words with [*y] in word initial po=
sition)
=A0=A0 [*D],=A0=A0 as in {*Doq}>{*Daq}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (no attested words with [*D] in word final posi=
tion)
The consonants peculiar to {no' Hol}, which underwent a sound shift:
=A0=A0 [*s],=A0=A0=A0 which only appeared before [r], as in {*srib}
=A0=A0 [*g'],=A0=A0 as in {*-bug'}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 It is hard to say if the grapheme <*g'> r=
epresented a single =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 consonant (e.g. a voiced uvular stop or a=
voiced velar fricative
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 which unlike the {ta' Hol} [gh] was not "=
raspy") or whether =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 it represented a consonant cluster: [*g] =
followed by [*'].
=A0=A0 [*q'],=A0=A0 as in {*q'uty}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 It is hard to say if the grapheme <*q'> r=
epresented a single =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 consonant (e.g. a voiceless uvular fricat=
ive) or whether
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 it represented a consonant cluster: [*q] =
followed by [*'].
=A0=A0 [*'q],=A0=A0 as in {*mu'qberet}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 It is hard to say if the grapheme <*'q> r=
epresented a single
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 consonant (e.g. a voiceless velar affrica=
te), or whether
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 it represented a consonant cluster: [*'] =
followed by [*q].
?{no' Hol} may possibly have had three palatalized consonants:
=A0=A0 [*ty/ti], a palatalized [t] spelled either <*ti> or <*ty>,
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 as in {*-tyiq}, {*q'uti}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 It is hard to say if the graphemes <*t=
y> and <*ti> represented
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 a single consonant or the consonant [*=
t] followed by [*y] or=A0 =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 [*i] respectively. =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =
=A0=A0 [*Dy/Di], a palatalized [D] spelled either <*Dy> or <*Di>,
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 as in {*Dya},{*'eDi}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 It is hard to say if the graphemes <*D=
y> and <*Di> represented
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 a single consonantor the consonant [*D=
] followed by [*y] or =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 [*i] respectively.=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0 =
=A0
=A0=A0 [*sy/si]=A0 a palatalized [s] spelled either <*sy> or <*si>, =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 as in {*syisi}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 It is hard to say if the graphemes <*s=
y> and <*si> represented
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 a single consonant or the consonant [*=
s] followed by [*y] or=A0 =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 [*i] respectively.=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=
=A0 =
"THE GREAT KLINGON CONSONANT SHIFT": =
=A0=A0 [*t]>['],=A0=A0 in word final position as in {*tyot}>{cha'}, {*-mut}=
>{-mo'}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =
=A0=A0 [*g']>[gh], as in {*g'ir}>{ghur}, {*tog'}>{tagh}
=A0=A0 [*q']>[H],=A0 as in {*q'op}>{Hap}, {*-loq'}>{-laH}
=A0=A0 [*'q]>[Q],=A0 as in {*'qin}>{Qun}, {*sye'q}>{SIQ}
=A0=A0 [*sr]>[S],=A0 i.e. [*s] coalesced with [*r], as in {*tunsroot}>{tonS=
aw'}
=A0=A0 [*sy]>[S],=A0 i.e. [*s] coalesced with [*y], as in {*sye'q}>{SIQ} =
=A0=A0 [*si]>[S],=A0 i.e. [*s] coalesced with [*i], as in {*syisi}>{SuS}
=A0
=A0=A0 [*ty]>[ch], i.e. [*t] coalesced with [*y], as in {*tyan}>{chen} =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (Much as in English [t] coalesce=
s=A0 with [y] in =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 "What your step") =
=A0=A0 [*ti]>[ch], i.e. [*t] coalesced with [*i], as in {*q'uti}>{Hoch}
=A0
=A0=A0 [*Di]>[j],=A0 i.e. [*D] coalesced with [*i], as in {*-DoDi}>{-Daj} =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 =
=A0=A0 [*Dy]>[j],=A0 i.e. [*D] coalesced with [*y], as in {*Dyav}>{jev}
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 (Much as in English [d] coalesce=
s with [y] in =
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 "Would you?")
INCONSISTENCIES:
I wonder what your thoughts are on these...
{*mu'qberet}>{moQbara'}:
=A0=A0=A0 ?{*mu'qberet} should have become {moQbIrI'}, =
=A0=A0=A0 or the {no' Hol} form should have been {*mu'qborot}.
{*-tyeDi}>{-chaj}:
=A0=A0=A0 ?{*-tyeDi} should have become {-chIj},
=A0=A0=A0 or the {no' Hol} form should have been {*-tyoDi}.
{*-ba'}>{-be'}, as in {*tubba'lit}>{tobbe'lu'}
=A0=A0=A0 The {no' Hol} form of {-be'} should have been {*-bat} =
=A0=A0=A0 and indeed there is a {no' Hol} suffix {*-bat}>{-be'}, =
=A0=A0=A0 attested in {*vivbat}>{vuvbe'}.
=A0=A0=A0 =
=A0=A0=A0 ?Maybe {*-ba'} a mistake, or I am mistaken and {*ba'} =
=A0=A0=A0 does not correspond to present day {-be'}.
=A0=A0=A0 =
{*'qi'tu'}>{QI'tu'}:
=A0=A0=A0 Apart from {ba'} in {*tubba'lit}, {*'qi'tu'} is the only attested =
=A0=A0=A0 {no' Hol} word containing syllables which end in [*'].
=A0=A0=A0 ?The word {*'qi'tu'} should have become {Qu'to'},
=A0=A0=A0 or the {no' Hol} form should have been {*'qettit}
{*-maq'}>{-moH}, as in {tyanmaq'*}, i.e. {chenmoH}:
=A0=A0=A0 ?{*-maq'} should have become {-meH},
=A0=A0=A0 or the {no' Hol} form should have been {*-moq'}.
=A0=A0=A0 =
=A0=A0=A0 Of course, I may be mistaken and the suffix actually does corresp=
ond =
=A0=A0=A0 to {-meH}.
{q'usru}, {'usru }: =
=A0=A0=A0 Both correspond to the {ta' Hol} word {HoS}. Perhaps two versions
=A0=A0=A0 of the word existed side by side, much as present day Klingon has
=A0=A0=A0 both {naHjej} and {naHjej} and in present day English "either" can
=A0=A0=A0 be pronounced in two different ways. If so, yet another phonologi=
cal
=A0=A0=A0 rule has to be posited, which changed {*'} to {H} in word initial
=A0=A0=A0 position. Obviously it would have affected the verbal prefixes =
=A0=A0=A0 {*-e} and {*-u} too but Klingon lost them at some point.
=A0 =
{*q'uti}, {*q'uty}: =
=A0=A0=A0 Both correspond to the {ta' Hol} word {Hoch}. Another example of
=A0=A0=A0 variability in {no' Hol}?
{*'ach}:
=A0=A0=A0 The word seems to have the same meaning as the present day {'ach}.
=A0=A0=A0 It is possible that when the book was being prepared for publicat=
ion =
=A0=A0=A0 MO wrote the {ta' Hol} word instead of the {no' Hol} word by mist=
ake. =
=A0=A0=A0 If it's not a mistake, {*'ach} would be the only word in the text =
=A0=A0=A0 containing the [ch] consonant.
The {no' Hol} root meaning "destroy", i.e. {Qaw'}, is:
=A0=A0=A0 {*'qoo} in the word {*'qoolit}, but {*qoot} in the words {*qoot'a=
g'},
=A0=A0=A0 i.e. "destroy itself", and {*meqoot}, i.e. "they destroyed them".=
Yet
=A0=A0=A0 another example of variability in {no' Hol}?
The {no' Hol} root meaning "two", i.e. {cha'}, is:
=A0=A0=A0 {tyot} in "The End": {teq tyot lityanmaq'}, i.e. {tIq cha'(DIch) =
=A0=A0=A0 luchenmoH}, but {tyo} in "The Void": {tyo teqmaa sye'q}, i.e. =
=A0=A0=A0 {SIQ cha' tIqDu'}. Maybe these are two different words, meaning =
=A0=A0=A0 "second" and "two" respectively. =
'ISqu'
=
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