[3541] in tlhIngan-Hol
Complex sentences and question words
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Mar 2 17:41:40 1994
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From: "Kevin Wilson (DV 1994)" <sparks@minerva.cis.yale.edu>
To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@klingon.East.Sun.COM>
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 1994 17:19:16 -0400 (EST)
SuvwI'pu' quv,
In translating Genesis I came across the sentence "Why did you
tell me that she is your sister?" Sounds easy enough, but I found that I
could not decide where to place the question word. According to TKD 6.4,
the question words nuqDaq, ghorgh, qatlh, and chay' all come at the
beginning of a sentence. But what about the case of complex sentences?
According to 6.2.5 a complex sentence in tlhIngan Hol is actually two
sentences. As I read it, one of the following choices is correct.
(1) qatlh be'nI'lI' ghaH 'e' qaja'ta'
(2) be'nI'lI' ghaH qatlh 'e' qaja'ta'
(3) be'nI'lI' ghaH 'e' qatlh qaja'ta'
For reasons which I cannot explain I prefer the third sentence, but it
places the question word after the object of the second sentence. The
second option fixes this problem, but looks awkward. The first sentence
makes sense grammatically, and if pressed I would probably use it, but I
wanted to get some second opinions.
What say the grammarians?
Qapla'
Kevin
