[989] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: verbs in compounds (was: Re: epithets (taHqeq))
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Jun 16 05:50:52 1993
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Errors-To: tlhIngan-Hol-request@village.boston.ma.us
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Reply-To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@village.boston.ma.us>
From: A.APPLEYARD@fs1.mt.umist.ac.uk
To: "Klingon Language List" <tlhIngan-Hol@village.boston.ma.us>
Date: 16 Jun 93 09:55:56 GMT
HoD Qangorvo' (Tue 15 Jun 93 16:38:49 -0400):-
> ... case-by-case ... often..."You can't." ... "redhead" ... "redhair" or
"orangehead" or even "rustscalp" ...
Two topics here that need to be kept apart:-
(a) what Klingon word(s) to use for human hair redness?
(b) how to translate English bahuvrihis and other not-all-nouns compounds?
> ... descriptive phrase (jIb Doq ghajbogh nuv'e' ghaHtaH)
At 8 syllables that is rather long to have to use in the middle of urgent
communication in the middle of action!
> or just give in and use the English ("redhead" ghaHtaH) ...
Yes.
> ... breaking your teeth on it ...
Problems often don't go away like wasps if ignored. If something needs to be
mentioned urgently and concisely, then an expression for it must be found.
> French didn't have a word for "weekend", so they say "le weekend"; by now
I'm sure they think it's a French word.
Likely previously they said 'samedi et dimanche' or the like.
> ... That is, if Okrand *wanted* to give us a firm rule to apply, there's
nothing really precluding that.
Perhaps he met no need for a bahuvrihi or the like while writing TKD.
Compare the amount of matter that he added in TKD 2nd edition that he had met
no need for while writing TKD 1st edition. Compare the amount of grammar
("if"-clauses, reflexive pronouns, nominative pronoun "we", etc etc) which is
missing in Tolkien's Quenya language because he met no need for it in what he
needed to write in Quenya down the years. Someone best ask Marc Okrand.
