[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: matlhHa'

[SuStel]

On 9/20/2016 11:19 AM, mayqel qunenoS wrote:
> lieven:
>> Hope this helps a bit
> Yes, it does ! And I think I understand (finally) what's going on.
>
> If I walk in the kitchen to see that someone ate my pie, then I will
> say: {QI'yaH ! chabwIj Sopta' vay' !}
>
> But if I want to say that "when someone eats pizza, he always needs to
> drink beer too", then I will say {pItSa' chab Soplu'taHvIS vaj reH HIq
> tlhutlhnISlu' je}
>
> Because I learned something new, I'm happy, however it amazes me, how
> something so important eluded me so far..

Don't take this too far. It would also be perfectly correct to say 
*chabwIj Soplu'ta'*/my pie has been eaten./ *-lu'* is not only for 
hypothetical or subjunctive uses.

It's a matter of focus. *-lu'* takes the focus away from whoever would 
be the subject of the sentence, because it removes the subject entirely.

    *chabwIj Sopta' vay''e'
    */someone, definitely someone, has eaten my pie/

    *chabwIj Soplu'ta'
    */my pie has been eaten
    /

In the former sentence, I'm focusing very strongly on the culprit. In 
the latter, I'm focusing on my pie and the fact of its having been 
eaten; I'm not considering who has done it.

Use *-lu'* when you want to de-emphasize the role of the subject in the 
sentence, or when you just don't know or don't care who or what the 
subject is. Use *vay'* when you want to talk about /someone/ or 
/something/ and have them play an active role in the sentence.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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