[3513] in tlhIngan-Hol

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a better translation for the "revenge" proverb

daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Tue Mar 1 08:58:38 1994

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Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@klingon.East.Sun.COM
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From: shoulson@ctr.columbia.edu (Mark E. Shoulson)
To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@klingon.East.Sun.COM>
Date: Tue, 1 Mar 1994 08:54:05 -0500
In-Reply-To: Erich Schneider's message of Mon, 28 Feb 94 15:54:48 CST <94022821
    54.AA04085@ bush.cs.tamu.edu>


>From: erich@bush.cs.tamu.edu (Erich Schneider)
>Date: Mon, 28 Feb 94 15:54:48 CST


>For "revenge is a dish best served cold":

>bortaS jabnISlu'chugh, nay' bIrjaj.

>I assume I have done "-jaj inversion" correctly here?

Um, we really don't have any evidence for a global "-jaj inversion."  I
think our esteemed Krankor, author of the article which discussed it, would
be the first to admit that these inversions represent old, fossilized
forms, and for newly-coined usages of "-jaj", there is no evidence that
they should be be reversed.  In fact, he *does* say so (HolQeD 2:4, p.7: "I
say the rule [of -jaj inversion] 'can be applied' to all given -jaj
sentences.  That is not the same as 'must be applied.'... No, the
implication is that this is a special rule for specific, ritualized
utterances."  So far as Okrand told us about the use of "-jaj", aside from
toasts which are specifically flagged as unusual in the tape, there is
nothing special about -jaj that makes you have to reverse word-order.  So
for sentences you coin, unless Okrand tells us different, leave the
word-order alone.

>-QumpIn 'avrIn


~mark


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