[86983] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: The topic marker -'e'
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Christopher Doty)
Mon Nov 23 15:34:31 2009
In-Reply-To: <4B0AEEA6.5050608@trimboli.name>
From: Christopher Doty <suomichris@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:32:51 -0800
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
Errors-to: tlhingan-hol-bounce@kli.org
Reply-to: tlhingan-hol@kli.org
> Not all verbs of action have agents. For instance:
>
> bom Qoy puq
> the child hears the song
> puq = experiencer
> bom = theme
>
> To be an agent, the noun must intentionally perform the action. This
> means that mindless forces are not agents (they are "forces").
>
> qoH pummoH SuS
> the wind knocks over the fool
> SuS = force
> qoH = patient
This is quite interesting, actually, since Klingon actually contrasts
intentionality with non-intentionality. Compare:
bom Qoypu' puq
the child heard the song
bom Qoyta' puq
the child heard the song (by eavesdropping? Putting one's ear up to
the wall with a cup?)
What do y'all think of Qoyta'? Can one use -ta' with verbs that would
otherwise have experiencer subjects?
Chris
