[tlhIngan Hol] Can we say {qarbe''a'} ?

Jeffrey Clark jmclark85 at gmail.com
Wed May 8 12:47:24 PDT 2019


{qarbe’’a’} is only confusing if you code it into English — “isn’t that right”, which has become an idiomatic expression IN ENGLISH. 

The meaning of {qarbe’’a’} is clearly (when read in Klingon) closer to “Is it inaccurate” which is a clearly unambiguous question.

—jevreH

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 8, 2019, at 15:24, Will Martin <willmartin2 at mac.com> wrote:
> 
> If you like inviting someone to give you a wrong answer because you and they don’t agree on exactly what “Yes” means, in response to {qarbe’’a’}, then by all means, say {qarbe’’a’.}
> 
> charghwI’ vaghnerya’ngan
> 
> rInpa’ bomnIS be’’a’ pI’.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> On May 8, 2019, at 3:07 PM, Jeffrey Clark <jmclark85 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On May 8, 2019, at 10:55, nIqolay Q <niqolay0 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> You probably wouldn't have to start entirely from scratch. If someone says wagh vIghro'mey tIQ. qarbe''a'?, even though this isn't a usual tag question, I can deduce that qarbe''a' is probably supposed to refer to the previous statement. (Perhaps they originally said wagh vIghro'mey tIQ confidently, but then realized they weren't 100% sure, so they added qarbe''a', in the sense of "...am I wrong?") It might not have the same connotations of expecting a "yes" answer, but you're still asking about the accuracy of a statement.
>> 
>> 
>> This was my original assumed usage, based on my lack of knowledge from qar’a’ being able to exist as a second verb in the same phrase (not having fully read the TKD addendum).
>> 
>> This is the usage that I figured would be grammatical, if “unexpected”. But using an unexpected phrasing is often a signalling device situationally desired for it’s altered connotations — as I’ve argued previously. 
>> 
>> —jevreH
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