[tlhIngan Hol] is nIyma' an 'oH or a ghaH

[Lieven L. Litaer]

Am 31.07.2020 um 14:33 schrieb mayqel qunen'oS:
> The thing which actually confuses me in this word, is that if it's
> about something which isn't actually there, then how can something
> which actually doesn't exist, be classified as "capable of speech" ?

I turn around the question to you: What did you wish to express, needing
a pronoun for it?

I think of a situation like

A: "I believe I saw my grandma..."
B: "That was a nIyma, because your grandma is dead. What did she say?"

In that situation, I would use "she" to refer to the person that was
seen as part of the "apparition". If you refer to the "apparition", I
would use the -mey suffix.

> I'm not aware of this discussion. Has this discussion ever taken place
> here and I missed it ?

No. I did not refer to a specific discussion, but it comes up very often
here and there. A cat, as an animal, is definitely not capable of
language. Grammatically, you have to say "it" ('oH) - both in English
and Klingon. But (at least in English) it's a common way to use he/she
pronouns if the speaker has a close relationship to their cat or dog.
- "See that cat on the roof? It's black."
- "See this cat? Her name is spot. She's my best friend."

--
Lieven L. Litaer
aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany"
http://www.tlhInganHol.com
http://klingon.wiki/Word/VIghro-