[tlhIngan Hol] Silly question of the day

[SuStel]

On 10/14/2018 1:01 PM, Lieven L. Litaer wrote:
> Am 14.10.2018 um 18:52 schrieb mayqel qunenoS:
>> In the past we have said that the -qu', can act either by emphasizing 
>> only the suffix which directly precedes it, or by adding emphasis to 
>> the entire word.
>>
>> So, if the -qu' is used with the intention of emphasizing only the 
>> preceding suffix, then I still don't understand why we should use it 
>> in spoken klingon, and not just stress with our voice the final 
>> suffix instead.
>
>
> I suggest you go back to the chapter in TKD, which clearly shows the 
> difference that happens on the word qaHoHvIpbe'qu' and so on. The 
> different meanings are done in Englisch only with emphasis. Like "I am 
> NOT afraid to kill you" vs. "I'm afraid to NOT kill you" (I won't 
> quote the entire section).
>
>> On the other hand, if by the use of -qu', we want to emphasize the 
>> entire preceding word (i.e. verb and the sum of suffixes it bears), 
>> then I do understand why it would be needed, with its job unable to 
>> be done by merely adding emphasis with our voice on the final suffix.
>
> Remember that it can even emphasize the entire sentence, as in {nom 
> yIghoSqu'} where it basically epmphasized the {nom}.
>
>> On the third hand, why not emphasize with our voice the entire word 
>> with all its suffixes and be done with it, rather than using the -qu' ?
>
> The other kind of usage is translated with "very".
> {qaparHa'} is less then {qaparHa'qu'}.

How it is rendered in English is insufficient. What does the suffix 
MEAN, and why doesn't stress suffice?

*-qu'* is an intensifier. If means whatever it applies to is stronger in 
meaning or more worthy of attention than without it. I don't think the 
"kinds of usage" you've illustrated are significantly different in meaning.

I can think of two good reasons for *-qu'* to exist. One, because you 
can't count on being able to change a syllable's stress from unstressed 
to stress wherever you want the intensifier. If you've got *vIta'pu'be'* 
and you want to intensify one of those syllables with stress only, 
you're out of luck — they're already stressed. Two, because it just 
does. Maybe Klingon originally didn't allow stressing syllables for 
intensifying. Maybe stressing a syllable only emphasizes to clarify, not 
to intensify. Maybe *-qu'* used to be a kind of double-intensifier. We 
don't know any of this, so it's impossible to say.

What we do know is that *-qu'* does exist, and it is used frequently by 
Klingons. We don't know as much about stress as we do about *-qu'.* This 
is why you should use *-qu':* because that's how you speak Klingon.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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