[tlhIngan Hol] law' and 'Iq

Steven Boozer sboozer at uchicago.edu
Fri Sep 1 08:05:04 PDT 2017


Note that tlhoy “overly, excessively, too much” is an adverbial while ‘Iq is a quality (or stative verb).  Before I posted just the part about ‘Iq.  Here’s the full quote:

(IMO, HQ 8.3):  "It is used in such sentences as tlhoy jISop. I eat too much, I eat excessively. tlhoy bIQong you sleep too much, you sleep excessively. When tlhoy is used, it denotes that the action expressed by the verb is what is being overly done or done too much. Thus the sentence: tlhoy qagh vISop I eat too much gagh, I eat gagh excessively, I overeat gagh expresses the notion that the eating is excessive, not that the amount of gagh is. (Note that although it is possible to say this, it is not something anybody would be likely to ever say.) Similarly, tlhoy yIHmey vIlegh I see too many tribbles means I overly see tribbles (perhaps this could be used if one meant something like 'I see tribbles far too frequently and in far too many places'). To express the idea of 'too much gagh' or 'too many tribbles,' the verb 'Iq be too many, be too much is used adjectivally. For example: yIHmey 'Iq vIlegh I see too many tribbles. qagh 'Iq vISop I eat too much gagh. Sometimes, the word law'qu' be very many (formed from law' be many plus –qu', the emphatic suffix) is translated be too many. If the context is clear, this is acceptable, but if it important to stress the idea of overly many, overly much, more than there ought to be, tlhoy or 'Iq is usually employed."
Another example from the article was:

  tlhoy Sop 'ach ghIq Qongchu'.
He/she eats too much, but then he/she sleeps soundly. (HQ 8.3)

AFAIK there are no  other examples of either word.

--
Voragh

From: mayqel qunenoS
SuStel:
> 'Iq is an inherently negative concept.

Does the {tlhoy} convey a negative concept too ? If I say {tlhoy batlh chIw} for "he epitomizes honor excessively", then is this something positive, or something negative ?

qunnoq

From: mayqel qunenoS
We know we can say {'ul law'} for "a great amount of electricity"; but can we say too {'ul 'Iq} for "too much electricity" ?
Other than that, is there any other considerable difference between {law'} and {'Iq} ? That is a difference besides the level of "how much", expressed by each.
For example, is the {'Iq} only to be used in cases where we want to express something negative ? For example {jagh 'Iq}, or can it be used too in order to refer to something positive, for example {batlh 'Iq} ?

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