[3706] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: Noun-Noun Construction
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Mar 9 08:50:24 1994
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@klingon.East.Sun.COM
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@klingon.East.Sun.COM
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@klingon.East.Sun.COM
Reply-To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@klingon.East.Sun.COM>
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From: mark <mark@dragonsys.COM>
To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@klingon.East.Sun.COM>
Date: Wed, 09 Mar 94 08:30:00 EST
charghwI'vo':
* * *
In particular, I find it interesting that {-moH} is commonly used to change an
intransitive verb into a transitive one, but in this case, the definition in
TKD has {Hegh} as intransitive and {HeghmoH} ALSO intransitive. You are
interpreting {HeghmoH} to be a synonym for {HoH}, and while you got there
through a logical use of the suffix meanings, you don't have much of a case,
since {HeghmoH} does not mean "kill". It means "be fatal", and in the
English-Klingon side, it says "fatal, be fatal", which fits the pattern of
"adjective, verb" definitions described on the clear but surprisingly
controversial passage in the word list introduction on pages 78-79.
* * *
Careful there. TKD doesn't tag verbs as transitive or in-. (We've touched on
this before in this list, some time ago.) Barring evidence against, I would
say that ANY Klingon verb can be used with an object if it makes sense that
way. For instance, recently I sent a (private) message including the one-word
sentence
muDaj
"Daj" is listed in TKD as "be interesting (v)". My intended meaning was
It interests me. / I am interested in it. /
It is interesting to me.
Now, in the case of HeghmoH, I interpret the difference between
HeghmoH be fatal (v)
and
HoH kill (v)
thus: HoH refers (more) to an action that causes death, by someone or some
thing that can be seen as a do-er; and HeghmoH refers (more) to an effect or
result of something that is not an action. While in English we could say
"The poison killed him", TKD's explicit distinction between these two verbs
suggests to me that a Klingon would be much more likely to say
(ghaH) HeghmoH tar
than
?? (ghaH) HoH tar
- marqem
Mark A. Mandel
Dragon Systems, Inc. : speech recognition : +1 617 965-5200
320 Nevada St. : Newton, Mass. 02160, USA : mark@dragonsys.com
