[475] in tlhIngan-Hol
more on sticks
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Mon Feb 1 17:19:25 1993
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@village.boston.ma.us
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@village.boston.ma.us
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@village.boston.ma.us
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@village.boston.ma.us
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@village.boston.ma.us
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Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@village.boston.ma.us
Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@village.boston.ma.us
Reply-To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@village.boston.ma.us>
From: mark <mark@dragonsys.COM>
To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@village.boston.ma.us>
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 93 14:07:58 EST
I don't agree that the sentences on p. 65 are counterexamples to
the theory that verbs with -meH can have an implicit indefinite
subject. In all those sentences the subjects are all definite, so
they provide no evidence one way or the other.
In browsing through the phrase book I got a good healthy knock
upside the head with a stick. Consider:
ghorgh tujchoHpu' bIQ
When will the water be hot?
The aspect suffix is pu', the perfective marker, referring to the
action (tujchoH bIQ) as completed. We usually consider this as
referring to past action, but here it's future, and completely
consistent with what we're told about pu': the speaker is
interested in when the water's getting-hot will be done. The
lesson, I guess, is not to stick too closely to "often translated
as" or apparent equivalences to English or other languages we
know.
Mark A. Mandel
Dragon Systems, Inc. : speech recognition : +1 617 965-5200
320 Nevada St. : Newton, Mass. 02160, USA
megh DIlnISbe'lu'bogh tu'lu'be'
