[tlhIngan Hol] Tag questions

[Steven Boozer]

mayqel qunenoS wrote:
>>> someone asks: {tlhIngan Hol boparHa', qar'a'}.
>>
>> supposing that the answer is "yes", (because if it wasn't "yes" we
>> wouldn't be here), then how do we answer ?
>> 	a. HIja'
>> 	b. bIqar
>> 	c. bIlugh
>> 	d. all of the above
 
De'vID:
> See TKD section 6.4:
> <Yes/no questions are formed with the Type 9 suffix {-'a'} added to the
> verb. Examples are given in section 4.2.9.  Appropriate answers to yes/no
> questions are:
>     {HIja'} or {HISlaH} yes
>     {ghobe'} no>[] 


Felix Malmenbeck:
> Yes, {HIja'} or {HISlaH} would both do the trick nicely, and in most
> situations would probably sound the most natural.
> 
> However, {qar} also makes perfect sense, as the question at play is "Is it
> accurate?"
> ...and likewise, {wIparHa'} communicates the answer nicely.
> 
> {bIlugh} is a bit questionable, because it depends on whether or not you
> judge that the person asking the question is actually making a statement.
> I personally think that'd be an appropriate assessment in most cases where
> {qar'a'} is used, because the asker is usually requesting confirmation for
> a perceived truth, but I'd still be a bit cautious about it.
> 
> I'm more skeptical about {bIqar}, because I'm not convinced that a
> *person* can be accurate or inaccurate; they can *think* or *communicate*
> statements, which may may or may not be accurate. I personally use {qar}
> or {teH} to refer to statements and {lugh} or {vIt} to refer to people.
> Canon may show me to be wrong down the line, but so far I think this
> interpretation has held up.
> 
> [This is quite probably a case of native tongue bias; Swedish makes a
> distinction between statements, which can "be right" ("vara rätt") and
> people, which can "have right" ("ha rätt"). Whether or not Klingon makes
> this distinction is up to Marc Okrand.]
 
Though I didn't check the paq'batlh - someone else can do that - the canon seems to support Felix:

Examples of {lugh} "be right, be correct":

bIlugh 
You're right. TKD

bIlughbe' 
You're wrong. TKD

reH lugh charghwI' 
The victor is always right. TKW

bIlugh. Do'Ha' QIp qabpaqwIj. 
(MO to Andre on FaceBook, 2/11/2014)

lugh; Sor rur 
correct as a tree KGT


Examples of {qar} "be accurate":

Oddly, except for the phrase {mu'mey qar} "standard or proper Klingon (i.e. not slang)" discussed in KGT, all the examples of {qar} are of the tag phrase {qar'a'}:

(TKD 179):  Tag questions (ending a statement with a question such as "right?" or "isn't that so?") are formed by using the verb {qar} "be accurate" plus the suffix {-'a'} "interrogative". This word either follows the verb or else comes at the end of the sentence.

De' Sov qar'a' HoD
De' Sov HoD qar'a' 
The captain knows the information, right? TKD

'IH qar'a' 
It's beautiful, isn't it? CK

'IH jaj qar'a' 
Beautiful day, isn't it? PK
 
(KGT 34-35):  One good illustration of this involves the tag question--that is, the construction in which a statement is followed by a question such as "right?" In Klingon, a tag question is formed by adding {qar'a'} (literally, "Is it accurate?") either after the verb or at the end of the sentence [...] 
The tag question is found in the speech of all Klingons to one degree or another, but it is found quite a bit more frequently in the speech of younger Klingons. Indeed, some members of the older generation have accused teenage Klingons of adding {qar'a'} to the end of virtually every sentence they utter.

qarDaSnganpu' HIvpu' tlhInganpu' qar'a'
qarDaSnganpu' HIvpu' qar'a' tlhInganpu' 
The Klingons have attacked the Cardassians, right? (KGT)

wejHu' qoSlIj Dalopta', qar'a'? 
(MO's FaceBook text to Andre, 2/11/2014)


Examples of {teH} "be true":

- parmaq choH pagh teHqu', choH tu'DI' lajDaj. 
Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds 
 (Sonnet 116)

qeylIS tIghmey'e' DaH tIQoy / teH tIghmey 'ej bIH bolIjlaHbe' 
Hear now, [.] the ways of Kahless, for they are true and
 unforgettable. PB


AFAIK there are no examples of {vIt} "tell the truth" in a sentence.



--
Voragh
tlhIngan ghantoH pIn'a'
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons