[tlhIngan Hol] qIH and -chuq

[SuStel]

On 4/16/2019 12:59 PM, Will Martin wrote:
> We don’t seem to have a problem with the idea that {jI-} means the 
> same entity is the subject of causation AND the subject of being hot, 
> even though there is no explicit explanation of how this works

You want to understand?

Never say the phrase "subject of the causation" again.

You say it every time, and it's what gets you off track every time.

How it works is simple. The subject performs whatever the entire verb 
is. If there is a *-moH* on the verb, then the subject causes something 
to happen. Whether the subject performs the action described by the bare 
verb or any of its other suffixes is a matter of interpretation and 
context. Someone else might perform the action that is caused by the 
subject. There is no formula to determine who that is; you need to 
figure it out from context and the hints given to you by the verb and 
its suffixes.

*jItuj'eghmoH*

I am the subject. I cause something to happen. The action that happens, 
whoever does it, is /being hot./ The *-'egh* tells me that, since there 
is no other entity in this sentence, I must be doing something to 
myself. Either I am /being hot myself,/ which makes no sense, or I am 
/causing myself/ to do something, which does make sense. Also since 
there is no other entity in this sentence, I must be causing myself to 
be hot. There is no other interpretation.

*puqpu’ma’ DIqIHchuqnISmoH*

We are the subject. We cause something. Our children are the object; 
something is being done to them. The action being described is meeting 
for the first time. Someone is doing something to each other. Someone 
needs something.

There are multiple ways this can be interpreted. The children might need 
something, or we might need something. The children might be doing 
something to each other, or we might be doing something to each other.

/We cause each other to need to meet our children.
We need to cause each other to meet our children.
We cause our children to need to meet each other.
We need to cause our children to meet each other.
/

Maybe I haven't thought of all combinations, but you get the point. 
Klingon doesn't have a set formula for this stuff, but you keep looking 
for one. You simply need to remember that *-moH* only means that the 
subject causes something. It doesn't automatically separate the subject 
from performing the action too, and it doesn't automatically assign 
specific roles to direct or indirect objects. There are customary ways 
of saying things, but that's all part of supplying hints to interpretation.

The best course of action is to avoid ambiguous sentences like this if 
you want to be clear.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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