[tlhIngan Hol] perfective {-pu'} using/combining aspect with no aspect

SuStel sustel at trimboli.name
Thu Apr 7 07:21:02 PDT 2022


On 4/7/2022 10:07 AM, Iikka Hauhio wrote:
> Through my corpus search I found these examples:
>
> paq'batlh:
>
>     *chu'DI'* maS 'ej qaStaHvIS ram
>     nuHmeyDaj may'luchDaj nIv je
>     yIr qeylIS
>
>> TKW:
>
>     wa' Dol nIvDaq *matay'DI'* maQap.
>
>> PK:
>
>     *matay'DI'*, vIHtaHbogh bIQ rur mu'qaDmey.
>     DopDaq qul yIchenmoH *QobDI'* ghu'.
>
Good, then it's not impossible. It is sometimes difficult for me to 
decide when to use *-DI'* and when to use *-vIS,* and I think the two 
senses of English /when/ causes that:/when/ can mean "as soon as," but 
it can also mean "while." It might confuse Okrand as well, or he may 
have had a distinct interpretation in mind when he chose *-DI'* for 
these verbs.

What is, for instance, the difference between *DopDaq qul yIchenmoH 
QobDI' ghu'* s/et fire on the side when there is danger/ and *DopDaq qul 
yIchenmoH QobtaHvIS ghu'*/set fire on the side while there is danger?/ 
Maybe it's one of presupposition? The first suggests that, in the event 
of danger, one should set fire on the side. The second presupposes the 
presence of danger, and one should set fire on the side during that 
danger. This is speculation.

The /paq'batlh/ sentence is problematical. *chu'DI' maS 'ej qaStaHvIS 
ram*/when the moon is new and during the night./ The English original is 
/on the night of the new moon./ What made Okrand decide to mix *-DI'* 
and *-vIS* here? The moon is (presumably) new all night, so it's not 
like it's describing the moon /becoming/ new during the night. I return 
to wondering whether Okrand was letting his English influence his choice 
of Klingon grammar: in English you might say /during a night when the 
moon was new,/ but you'd be less likely to say /during a night while the 
moon was new./

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name
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