[tlhIngan Hol] where the adverb refers and {tlhoS}

[SuStel]

On 8/26/2021 2:19 PM, Will Martin wrote:
> Klingon doesn’t have adverbs. It has “adverbials”. These modify verbs. Their placement in the sentence begins the verb clause (main or dependent) because it is grammatically linked to the verb.
>
> Given this, I could only interpret {vabDot vIghro’ tIQ DagheplaH,} to mean “You’ll even be able to hold the ancient cat.” Maybe Okrand has used it otherwise in canon or maybe he’s explained how an adverbial could apply to a noun, and I’ll once again wince my way through yet another grammatical inconsistency, but from my perspective, rules is rules, and adverbials modify verbs.

Wellllllll, if we're going by "the rules," adverbials "describe the 
manner of the activity." That's not quite the same thing as "adverbials 
modify verbs."

Qa'yIn isn't saying that *vabDot* and *tlhoS* can modify nouns. He's 
saying that they can be translated in a way that leads to an English 
adverb modifying a noun. And he is correct.

*vabDot vIghro' DaleghlaH SoH* means /It is even true that you can see a 
cat./ That might mean:

It is even true that YOU can see a cat.
It is even true that you can SEE a cat.
It is even true that you can see a CAT.

(I am emphasizing individual words to illustrate the point, not as a 
suggestion that the adverbial emphasizes words.)

All Qa'yIn is doing is noticing that the /even/ part of the English 
translation might be applied /in the English translation/ to any of 
those words. In Klingon, you cannot move the *vabDot *around, so the 
interpretation must be entirely left to context.


> This is why we call them adverbials and not “adverbs”.

Wellllllll, no, that's not really the difference between adverbs and 
adverbials. In English, an adverb is a word that modifies a verb, 
adjective, adverb, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. It is a 
part of speech, like nouns and adjectives. An adverbial is a word or 
phrase that modifies a sentence or verb. It is a sentence part, like 
subjects and predicates. Adverbs are usually used as adverbials.

So the word /adverbial/ doesn't really tell us a lot about the 
limitations of what it can do. Given that they almost always come before 
the OVS part of the sentence, I think they probably usually apply to the 
whole sentence, to be interpreted as context decrees.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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