[83967] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: Missing question words
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Doq)
Mon Jan 14 16:10:42 2008
From: Doq <doq@embarqmail.com>
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
In-Reply-To: <478BB1BF.4090709@trimboli.name>
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:08:45 -0500
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
Another angle on this:
I'm not sure that a Klingon would ask "How happy are you?" It's just a
hunch, but I think there would always be a sense of mission behind
such a question. A better example might be the "How loyal is the
captain?":
matlh HoD net Sov. Qu'vaD yap'a'?
Basically, "Is the captain loyal enough for the mission?"
For these things that don't have a numerical measurement, I think you
need a threshold set. Something like:
HoD: {bIQuch'a' pagh bIQuchqu''a'?}
SuvwI': {jIQuchqu', qaH!}
HoD: {toH! bIQuchqu''a' pagh bIQuchchu''a'?}
SuvwI': {jagh vIHoHta'mo' jIQuchchu', qaH!}
HoD: {majQa'!}
Doq
On Jan 14, 2008, at 2:02 PM, David Trimboli wrote:
> 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
>
> --
> Practice the Klingon language on the tlhIngan Hol MUSH.
> http://trimboli.name/klingon/mush.html
>
>
