[tlhIngan Hol] Narration

[SuStel]

Would someone with Marc's email address ask him how Klingons relate 
stories? In English it is customary to tell stories in the past tense, 
though sometimes we use the "historical present." I'm especially 
interested in whether Klingons perceive a "present moment" in 
storytelling, or whether the entire story is being looked at from after 
the end. In the latter case, perfective suffixes will be needed a lot more.

An example. If a Klingon child were to ask his parent, *nuqDaq 
jIboghpu'?* /Where was I born?/ a parent without a story might answer, 
*veng wa'DIch ropyaHDaq bIboghpu'.*/You were born in First City 
Hospital./ It's all done and being looked at from the outside, so these 
sentences are perfective. But suppose the Klingon has to tell a story to 
explain the birth. Which one of these is the way it would be told—or is 
there some other style?

Point of view follows the narrative:
*yatlhtaHvIS SoSlI', wa' jaj HarghtaH yo'maj jagh yo' je. jIHvaD Qum 
ropyaH; jatlh «boghchoHmoHpu' be'nallI'! SIbI' naDev ghoS!» may' 
vInarghlaHbe', nuDechmo' jaghma'. jaghvaD jIjach; jIjatlh «boghtaH 
puqwI'! jISaHlaHbe'chugh, ghogh'ot SaDIlmoHbej!» SIbI' jegh jaghma' 'ej 
veng wa'DIch ropyaHDaq muDor. ghIq bIbogh.*

Point of view is from after all of the events of the story are already 
completed:
*yatlhtaHvIS SoSlI', wa' jaj HarghtaH yo'maj jagh yo' je. jIHvaD Qumpu' 
ropyaH; jatlhpu' «boghchoHmoHpu' be'nallI'! SIbI' naDev ghoS!» may' 
vInarghlaHbe', nuDechpu'mo' jaghma'. jaghvaD jIjachpu'; jIjatlhpu' 
«boghtaH puqwI'! jISaHlaHbe'chugh, ghogh'ot SaDIlmoHbej!» SIbI' jegh 
rIntaH jaghma' 'ej veng wa'DIch ropyaHDaq muDorta'. ghIq bIboghpu'.*
**

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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