[tlhIngan Hol] Hoch context law' puS construction

[SuStel]

On 12/27/2016 6:26 AM, mayqel qunenoS wrote:
> lets assume a simple sentence:
>
> la' Dun law' Hoch Dun puS
> the greatest commander of them all
>
> Can the {Hoch} have context ? And if you wonder what I mean, here it is:
>
> la' Dun law' jogh Hoch la'pu' Dun puS
> the greatest commander of all commanders of the quadrant
>
> la' Dun law' Hoch la'pu' vIghompu'bogh Dun puS
> the greatest commander of all commanders I have met
>
> HoSDaj ngay'Daj je Dun law' Hoch novpu' HoS ngay' je Dun puS
> his power and glory were greater than the power and glory of all aliens
>
> are the above sentences correct ?

Common wisdom says they are. I have begun to question common wisdom on this.

I think there are two distinct *law'/puS* constructions, disregarding 
the numerous variations we've gotten over the years: the comparative and 
the superlative. I have begun to think that the superlative is invariant 
in its B noun phrase: /*A Q */*law' Hoch*/*Q */*puS,* and nothing but 
*Hoch* can be in the B position for it to remain superlative.

Our only example of how to give context to the superlative is our old 
friend from /Star Trek V:/ *qIbDaq SuvwI''e' SoH Dun law' Hoch Dun 
puS*/you would be the greatest warrior in the galaxy./ Notice that this 
is not *qIbDaq SoH Dun law' Hoch SuvwI'pu' Dun puS*/you would be greater 
than all the warriors in the galaxy./ This latter is not a superlative, 
it is a comparative, and it kind of assumes that the addressee is not 
actually one of "all warriors." You might stick a *latlh* in there to 
signify /other/ warriors, but the point remains: this is not actually a 
superlative.

Okrand used the topic suffix to provide the context. Let's do that with 
your examples.

*jogh la'pu''e' la' Dun law' Hoch Dun puS
*/the commander is the greatest quadrant commander/

*la'pu''e' vIghompu'bogh la' Dun law' Hoch Dun puS
*/the commander is the greatest commander I have met/

*novpu' HoS'e' ngay''e' je ghaH Dun law' Hoch Dun puS
*/his alien power and glory are the greatest/

(And remember that /great/ here means /wonderful,/ not /large./)

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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