[83966] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: Missing question words
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (David Trimboli)
Mon Jan 14 14:04:21 2008
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 14:02:23 -0500
From: David Trimboli <david@trimboli.name>
In-reply-to: <BAY128-W40D9B86A59D6B5A4211AE6B6460@phx.gbl>
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
Elizabeth Lawrence wrote:
> I would simply rephrase as a command.
>
> bIQuch 'e' yIDel
>
> 'IH ghaH 'e' yIDel
>
> matlh HoD 'e' yIDel
I think the imperative is a good way to go about this, but I don't think
you've got it quite right.
Describe that you are happy!
Describe that he is handsome!
Describe that the captain is loyal!
I'd go for something more like this:
QuchtaHghachlIj yIDel
Describe your continued happiness!
'IHchu'ghachDaj yIDel
Describe his perfect beauty!
HoD matlhbejghach yIDel
Describe the captain's unquestionable loyalty!
Of course, the trouble here is that we don't have ready-to-use nouns for
these states, so we have to improvise with {-ghach}, and doing so always
requires some descriptor beyond just the quality itself. You can't have
just "happiness," you have to have "continued happiness" or "resumed
happiness" or "unhappiness" or something.
On the other hand, by arranging the question this way, you risk not
receiving a "quantitative" response to "how happy" and so on. You might
instead hear about WHY the person is happy.
QuchtaHghachlIj yIDel!
ta' gheSpu'DI' qeylIS, batlh SuvchoH yo' vIra'bogh. romuluSngan law'
DIHoH rIntaH. qutluch patlh DotlhwIj vIDub...
mevyap! bIQuchqu''a'?
... HIja'...
SuStel
Stardate 8037.7
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