[1622] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: wot 'oH'a' <'ar>'e'
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Fri Oct 8 09:58:47 1993
Reply-To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@klingon.east.sun.com>
From: Will Martin <whm2m@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu>
To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@klingon.east.sun.com>
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 93 09:54:33 EDT
On Oct 8, 2:08am, DSTRADER@delphi.com wrote:
> Subject: wot 'oH'a' <'ar>'e'
...
>Why couldn't you say {Su'ar} for, "How many of
> you are there?"
Very simple. 'ar is not a verb. It is a question word. It would have a
(v) next to it in the word list in TKD if it were a verb. It doesn't. It is
more appropriately catagorized as chuvmey, i.e. anything that is not
catagorized as a noun or a verb. Just because it may be a verb in English
does not mean it is a verb in tlhIngan. Similarly, your assumption that nuq
is a noun is without grounds. These are not nouns or verbs and cannot be
treated as such. The ONLY justification for calling something a noun or verb
in Klingon is if TKD has (n) or (v) next to it in the definition. Period.
> Oh, yeah. One question on pronunciation:
> Since the <'> in {Su'ar} is part of the second syllable, does it
> glottalize the <u>, i.e., is {Su'ar} pronounced identically to
> *{Su''ar}?
Yes. Would you pronounce any other doubled consonant different from a
single incident of the consonant? My suspicion is that the main reason all
Klingon words beginning with vowel sounds really begin with the glottal stop
is to avoid unseparated vowel sounds (except for combinations with "y" or
"w") in just this sort of instance. Of course Su'ar is gibberish, because 'ar
is not a verb...
-- charghwI'
