[tlhIngan Hol] When did you buy the phone which you now use ?

[SuStel]

On 8/11/2017 9:18 AM, mayqel qunenoS wrote:
> I was wondering whether we can pack into a single klingon sentence, 
> the question:
>
> "When did you buy the phone, which you now use ?"
>
> If we translated it exactly, then perhaps we would have:
>
> {ghorgh DaH ghogh HablI' Dalo'bogh Daje' ?}
>
> But the existence, side-by-side of {ghorgh} and {DaH}, results in an 
> awkward sentence.
>
> The only solution I can think of, is omitting the {DaH} and placing a 
> {-taH} on the {lo'} like this:
>
> {ghorgh ghogh HablI' Dalo'taHbogh Daje' ?}
>
> But would there be another way to do this ?

Your solution of adding *-taH* doesn't contain the /now/ meaning you're 
trying to move. This could just as easily mean /When did you buy the 
phone which you were using?
/

Relative clauses only like to get so complicated before they become 
confusing. I think you're correct in thinking that this one is awkward. 
The trouble isn't so much putting *ghorgh* next to *DaH,* but in 
recognizing that all the stuff you're saying after *ghorgh* is actually 
a relative clause -- you have to wait so long before you hear the 
*-bogh* that it may not be clear that it really is a relative clause, 
and you'll have to adjust your understanding of the sentence once you do 
figure that out.

I would break the relative clause out into a topic, like so: *DaH ghogh 
HablI''e' Dalo'bogh: ghorgh Daje'?* This is still a single sentence, and 
it's technically grammatical, though it plays a bit loose with exactly 
what the object of the main clause is (it's *'oH*, not *DaH ghogh 
HablI''e' Dalo'bogh*).

-- 
SuStel
http://www.trimboli.name/

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