[tlhIngan Hol] Question marks next to nouns

mayqel qunenoS mihkoun at gmail.com
Sat Aug 26 01:28:59 PDT 2017


De'vID:
> When Klingon is spoken

Indeed, this is the important point here: "when klingon is spoken".

Before starting this thread, while contemplating this matter, I asked
myself: "If klingons actually existed, and heard a single noun with the
voice of the speaker being colored as if there was an {-'a'} attached to
it, then wouldn't he understand it (the noun) as a question ?

Since during speech, the voice in Klingon is "colored" (I'm using the word
we use in Greece, because I don't know the english word), as it is in
english (to express anger/frustration/sadness), then probably a noun
followed by a question mark, would probably be understood in Klingon as
being a question.

However, I agree that this is something that would mainly take place in
informal spoken speech.

qunnoq

On Aug 26, 2017 08:15, "De'vID" <de.vid.jonpin at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> On Aug 25, 2017 19:15, "mayqel qunenoS" <mihkoun at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> In order to form a question, we can either use the interrogative {-'a'},
> or we can use question words such as {nuq}, {chay'}, etc..
>
> However, recently I have been wondering whether it would be allowed, if
> the conversation calls for it, to write a noun placing next to it the
> question mark.
>
> For example:
>
> {mawambe'chugh vaj nuq wISop ? pu'meymaj ?}
> If we don't hunt, then what will we eat ? Our phasers ?
>
>
> In Star Trek III, Kruge asks {vaj Daleghpu'?} Valkris answers {HISlaH
> jawwI'} even though it wasn't a {-'a'} question.
>
> Star Trek V has a line spoken by Klaa that goes {'entepray'? qIrq Duj
> 'oH.} It might be an exclamation rather than a question, though it's
> phrased kind of like a rhetorical question.
>
> When Klingon is spoken, the grammar is a bit more lax than what's stated
> in TKD. According to the rules, you'd have to say {pu'meymaj DISop'a'?},
> but if you said {pu'meymaj?} it would be acceptable spoken Klingon.
>
> --
> De'vID
>
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