[tlhIngan Hol] irrealis {net jal} and the {net jalchugh}

mayqel qunen'oS mihkoun at gmail.com
Tue Feb 25 11:06:53 PST 2020


loghaD:
> When a Klingon says {[sentence] net
> jalchugh, [...]}, the idea they wish to
> express is normally roughly analogous to
> an irrealis conditional in English ("were it
> the case that [setence], [...]"). You could
> imagine cases where somebody uses the
> expression in a more literal sense (qIt
> ghu' qaq net jalchugh, chaq qaS Daw'.),
> and in that case it will be up to the
> translator to distinguish between the two
> senses.

Thanks for clarifying this ! So far, I've been under the impression that
the *only* way someone could use the {net jalchugh} could be in the
irrealis way. It's good to learn, that we can use it literally too.

SuStel:
> I don't think so. net jalchugh sets up the
> condition for an irrealis. It's a set phrase.
> net jal only means that someone is
> literally  imagining something. There's no
> condition, so no irrealis, only someone
> imagining something.

ok, I understand.. It would be too good to be true, to be able to use the
{net jal} on its own..

But, no problem ! Luckily we have the {net jalchugh}, so when the need for
an irrealis will arise, we can avoid being caught with our pants down !

(I always found this english phrase very funny.. hahaha !)

~ mayqel qunen'oS
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