[83894] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: Using the verb DuH (was Art of War Chp. 1 (section 3/3))
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Doq)
Wed Jan 9 10:57:33 2008
From: Doq <doq@embarqmail.com>
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
In-Reply-To: <f5b478ef0801082119o5dd37008h5c9707686d20e075@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 10:55:13 -0500
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
To explain what I mean by using {-meH} with a negative relationship to
the main verb:
jIQIjmeH, QaH chovnatlhvam.
In order that I explain, this specimen will help.
This is a good example of a {-meH} purpose clause and its relationship
to the main verb. Okay?
juHlIjDaq jIyItmeH tlhoy SIS.
"It is raining too hard for me to walk to your house."
This is a bad example of a {-meH} purpose clause. The excessive rain
does not have, as its mission, my walking to your house. The purpose
of the rain is not my walking.
We are tempted to translate the English "It is raining too hard for me
to walk to your house," as {juHlIjDaq jIyItmeH tlhoy SIS,} but that is
actually a bad translation. It would be better to say, {tlhoy SISmo'
juHlIjDaq jIyItqangbe'.}
Does that make more sense?
Doq
On Jan 9, 2008, at 12:19 AM, qa'vaj wrote:
> On Jan 8, 2008 10:36 AM, Doq <doq@embarqmail.com> wrote:
>> Why work so hard to use {DuHbe'} and fret over "sentence as subject"
>> when we have {-laHbe'}? {vIHchoHpa' gho luwuqluHbe'.} If you don't
>> like {-luH}, then {vIHchoHpa' gho luwuqlaHbe' vay'.} Either one beats
>> using {DuHbe'}, both because of the "sentence as subject" problem and
>> the problem of using {-meH} with a negative. It winds up sounding
>> like
>> the decision is the mission of the impossibility. It is impossible,
>> in
>> order that one decides...
>>
>
> Actually, the alternative sentence {vIHchoHpa' gho luwuqlaHbe' vay'}
> occurred to me. It's consistent with the English translation
> provided by
> 'ISqu'. However, sometimes the choices made are based on preserving
> the
> feel of the original Chinese, which I can't read, so I defer to
> her. Both
> seem to be correct Klingon grammar.
>
> I'm not sure what you mean 'with a negative'. I'm assuming you mean
> something more that just the presence of {-be'} on the main verb.
>
>
> --
> qa'vaj
> qo'lIj DachenmoHtaH
>
>
>
