[tlhIngan Hol] The crucible

[De'vID]

On 8 August 2016 at 11:14, mayqel qunenoS <mihkoun at gmail.com> wrote:
> ghunchu'wI':
>> "This one" doesn't make much sense in Klingon with the number {wa'},
>> especially when what "one" is counting hasn't been stated, and I can't
>> figure out what "day of this one" would mean.
>
> I can't understand why {wa'vam} doesn't make sense.

The word "one" in English has multiple meanings, only one of which
applies to the Klingon {wa'}.

If I'm in a store and the Klingon storekeeper demands to know which of
several similar items I want, I point and say {Dochvam}, not
*{wa'vam}. In a police line-up, when I'm asked to identify the
perpetrator, I point and say {nuvvetlh}, not *{wa'vetlh}. In English,
"one" acts like a pronoun referring to a thing or person previously
mentioned. It doesn't have this function in Klingon.

-- 
De'vID