[tlhIngan Hol] Klingon Word of the Day: matlhHa'
Lieven
levinius at gmx.de
Tue Sep 20 00:47:47 PDT 2016
Am 20.09.2016 um 08:24 schrieb mayqel qunenoS:
> Thinking this over today with a clear mind, I continue being unable to
> grasp how {vay'} is definite while {-lu'} is abstract. Both refer to
> an unknown person. Unknown, by definition, is abstract and
> indefinite..
I know it'S hard to understand, as these are very close to each other.
Maybe some more examples can clarify.
A person rings at the door. You do not know who it is, but you know
there is someobody, so it's not indefinite. {wab chenmoH vay'}
There are some people in the room who hear the sound of the bell. You
can say {wab luQoy} "they hear the sound", but in a way of storytelling
you can say {wab Qoylu'} "One hears the sound" or "a sound can be heard".
One othor, more frequently used form is the expression {tu'lu'}, usually
tanslated as "there is". Literally it means "one [indefinite] discovers"
- it does not mean that somebody does discover things:
{tlhInganpu' tu'lu'} "there are Klingons here" = "a not specified,
generel person does discover Klingons" = "one can find Klingons here"
{tlhInganpu' tu' vay'} "somebody, a real, existing person, discovers
Klingons" (you could give that person a name if you know him)
Hope this helps a bit.
--
Lieven L. Litaer
aka Quvar valer 'utlh
Grammarian of the KLI
http://www.facebook.com/Klingonteacher
http://www.klingonwiki.net/En/ThereIs
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