[83970] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: Missing question words
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven Boozer)
Mon Jan 14 16:54:12 2008
Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:52:15 -0600
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
From: Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu>
In-Reply-To: <83603E37-B57A-4612-A955-71B9E155A9C0@embarqmail.com>
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
Dow wrote:
>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?"
You've phrased it as a yes/no question, not a quantifiable one. As such,
this can be simpler:
Qu'vaD matlh'a' HoD?
{Qu'vaD} limits "be loyal" to a particular mission, and therefore implies
"loyal enough":
The noun {Qu'vaD} means "for the mission", and in this sentence {-vaD}
indicates that the information is intended to be used somehow for the
mission under discussion. (TKD 28f.)
Qu'vaD lI' De'vam
This information is useful for the mission. TKD
Qu'vaD lI' net tu'bej
One certainly finds it useful for the mission.
One will certainly observe that it is useful to the mission. TKD
Qu'vaD wa' DevwI' tu'lu'
For one mission, there is one leader. TKW
Of course, the real question you're asking is {Qu'vaD HoD wIvoqlaH'a'} "Can
we trust the captain for the mission?" Another yes/no question: Yes, we
send him on the mission; no, we kill him. <g>
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
