[111924] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: [tlhIngan Hol] Using -ta' during -taHvIS
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (SuStel)
Mon Feb 25 10:00:11 2019
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From: SuStel <sustel@trimboli.name>
Date: Mon, 25 Feb 2019 10:00:00 -0500
In-Reply-To: <CAP7F2cKde8=SYWh1zex5_LGSDqcfOfigJqa7KKJ4E79CuW8+Zg@mail.gmail.com>
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On 2/25/2019 9:42 AM, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
> Suppose I write:
> {qaStaHvIS wa'maH DIS, vIghro' vIje'ta'}.
>
> What does it mean ?
> "During ten years, I fed the cat once"
> "During ten years, I fed the cat an unspecified number of times"
> "During ten years, I was constantly feeding the cat"
>
> Which of the sentences above, correctly describes the meaning of the
> original klingon sentence ?
It could be any or all of them. Exactly what they say are different things.
The sentence describes "completed feeding." Whether you did it once or
multiple times isn't specified, just that the feeding is completed
during the ten years. Being completed, it is no longer the case that you
feed the cat.
A similar ambiguity exists in English: /Over ten years, I fed the cat./
It /could /mean that you fed the cat exactly once during that ten years,
but without context lending itself to that interpretation, it's more
likely to mean that you were responsible for the feeding of the cat
during the ten years.
The Klingon is ambiguous as to the number of individual feedings, but it
is explicit, where the English is not, that the feeding is no longer
active, and that it ended sometime during the ten years.
If, on the other hand, you just want to express that you were
discharging your feeding duties over ten years, you probably shouldn't
use perfective at all: *qaStaHvIS wa'maH DIS, vIghro' vIje'* /I fed the
cat over ten years./ This does not say anything about whether you
stopped feeding the cat after the ten years was up.
--
SuStel
http://trimboli.name
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2/25/2019 9:42 AM, mayqel qunen'oS
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAP7F2cKde8=SYWh1zex5_LGSDqcfOfigJqa7KKJ4E79CuW8+Zg@mail.gmail.com">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Suppose I write:
{qaStaHvIS wa'maH DIS, vIghro' vIje'ta'}.
What does it mean ?
"During ten years, I fed the cat once"
"During ten years, I fed the cat an unspecified number of times"
"During ten years, I was constantly feeding the cat"
Which of the sentences above, correctly describes the meaning of the
original klingon sentence ?</pre>
</blockquote>
<p>It could be any or all of them. Exactly what they say are
different things.</p>
<p>The sentence describes "completed feeding." Whether you did it
once or multiple times isn't specified, just that the feeding is
completed during the ten years. Being completed, it is no longer
the case that you feed the cat.</p>
<p>A similar ambiguity exists in English: <i>Over ten years, I fed
the cat.</i> It <i>could </i>mean that you fed the cat exactly
once during that ten years, but without context lending itself to
that interpretation, it's more likely to mean that you were
responsible for the feeding of the cat during the ten years.</p>
<p>The Klingon is ambiguous as to the number of individual feedings,
but it is explicit, where the English is not, that the feeding is
no longer active, and that it ended sometime during the ten years.</p>
<p>If, on the other hand, you just want to express that you were
discharging your feeding duties over ten years, you probably
shouldn't use perfective at all: <b>qaStaHvIS wa'maH DIS, vIghro'
vIje'</b> <i>I fed the cat over ten years.</i> This does not
say anything about whether you stopped feeding the cat after the
ten years was up.<br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
SuStel
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://trimboli.name">http://trimboli.name</a></pre>
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