[tlhIngan Hol] With "joq" - how do we choose the right verb prefix ?

[SuStel]

On 9/1/2017 11:32 AM, demonchaux.aurelie wrote:
> Thank you all for your replies and thoughts on this !
>
> /HIq qIj reghuluS 'Iw HIq ghap jab
>
>   They serve Black Ale or Regulan bloodwine. (CK)
>
> {A B ghap jab} “they serve them” not {lujab} “they serve it”/
>
>
> This is a great example, and I think this gives us the solution, thank 
> you for digging it up!
>
> I was convinced that if A and B were both singular, "A B ghap" would 
> be considered singular when choosing the verb prefix, and that's why I 
> thought joq might be singular in those cases, and I couldnt choose 
> between singular or plural. But this proves the contrary !
>
> So, to sum up, whether A and B are singular or plural, and whether we 
> use je or ghap, A + B + je / ghap is always plural.
>
> Logically, A + B + joq is thus also always  plural !
>
> So the correct sentence in my example is:
> vIraS Hol tlhIngan Hol joq DIghojnIS
>
> tuQaHmo' Satlho' :)

It's an interesting data point, but I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. 
Okrand forgets the prefix *lu-* often enough that he even points out 
that Klingons forget *lu-* more than any other prefix.

Then there's this example from /HolQeD/ 12:2/,/ which seems to 
contradict your analysis:

    *naQ megh'an 'er'In ghap yI'uch
    */grasp either end of the stick/

The words *'er'In* and *megh'an* are /definitely/ intended to be 
singular here. If a *ghap* construction always got interpreted as 
plural, the verb should have been *tI'uch,* but it wasn't. And yes, 
sometimes Okrand forgets to use *tI-* and uses *yI-* instead. So we have 
two contradictory conclusions, each of which is based on examples with 
grammatical rules that Okrand commonly gets wrong.

Finally, even in English we don't use one consistent rule. /Either Bob 
or Linda are coming over./ A finicky grammarian would complain that the 
verb should have been /is;/ nobody else would even have noticed. I could 
easily see a native English speaker, constructing a Klingon sentence, 
following the same fuzzy rules.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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