[tlhIngan Hol] Expressing location and “prettier than all others” / Hoch DechtaH tI nIl

[Steven Boozer]

Another example from ST5:

<qIbDaq SuvwI''e'> SoH Dun law' Hoch Dun puS
You would be the greatest warrior in the galaxy. (ST5)
And while we’re on the topic, here are some more ways of using law’/puS (I’ve bracketed the introductory phrase/clause) :

<jonlu'meH> wo'maj pop tIn law' Hoch tIn puS
Our Empire's highest bounty has been placed on his head. (ST5 notes)

<tlhutlhmeH> HIq ngeb qaq law' bIQ qaq puS
Drinking fake ale is better than drinking water. (TKW)
<noH ghoblu'DI'> yay quv law' Hoch quv puS
In war there is nothing more honorable than victory. (TKW)
<reH latlh qabDaq> qul tuj law' Hoch tuj puS
The fire is always hotter on someone else's face. (PK)
<tlhIngan wo' yuQmey chovlu'chugh> Qo'noS potlh law' Hoch potlh puS
The principal planet of the Klingon Empire, Qo'noS... (S27)
<cha’ DISmo’> jIH qan law’ SoH qan puS
I'm two years older than you. (Lieven < Okrand, 7/25/2016)
<cha’ ’ujmo’> jIH woch law’ SoH woch puS
I'm two 'ujes taller than you. (Lieven < Okrand, 7/25/2016)
And the here’s the most complicated law’/puS we’ve seen:

<DujvamDaq tlhIngan nuH tu'lu'bogh> pov law' Hoch pov puS 'ej <DujvamDaq
   'op SuvwI' tu'lu'bogh> po' law' <tlhIngan yo' SuvwI' law'> po' puS
It [the IKC Pagh] has the best weapons and some of the finest warriors in the
   Klingon fleet.   (S7)
--Voragh

From: SuStel
On 6/12/2018 8:37 AM, Daniel Dadap wrote:

2) Would {(X) (Y) law' Hoch latlhmey (Y) puS} mean that X is more Y than all other Xes, or that X is more Y than all other things, not limited to other Xes? I’m trying to express the former meaning without having to do {(X) (Y) law' Hoch (X)mey (Y) puS} every time, partly because being able to use {latlh} in every verse strengthens the formula, and partly because it’s already slightly awkward to accommodate different syllable counts for the different X items that appear in the verses.

More than all others is just another way to say most, and that's the superlative construction.

   HoD Dun law' Hoch Dun puS.
   The captain is the greatest.

If you want to put the superlative in context, you can model a line from Star Trek V and get:

   SuvwI''e' HoD Dun law' Hoch Dun puS.
   The captain is the greatest warrior.
   As for warriors, the captain is the greatest.

--

SuStel

http://trimboli.name
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