[tlhIngan Hol] verb prefix when the object noun is topicalized by {-'e'} and precedes the adverb

[Will Martin]

It seems strange because it is strange, but then, language is strange. The object is still the object, even if it is emphasized/topicalized. {romuluSnganpu’’e’ DaH tIHIv!}, though it’s likely a common error to use {yI-} simply because it is used more often and non-Klingons easily forget that {tI-} is a prefix.

The confusing thing about {-‘e’} is that it can be used on a noun that already has another grammatical function defined by position, or it can tag on a noun at the beginning of a sentence that isn’t the object, so that {-‘e’} defines the function of the noun in the sentence. {SuvwI’pu’’e’ SoH yoH law’ Hoch yoH puS.} In this, {SuvwI’pu’} has no grammatical function in the sentence except for defining the topic. On the topic of soldiers, you are the bravest. A woman giving birth might be braver, or that citizen who stood in front of that tank and shook his fist at it might be braver, but if you ignore anybody who isn’t a soldier, you are the most brave.

But in your example, {romuluSnganpu’} is not merely the topic. It is definitely the object of the verb. Otherwise, you are saying, “On the topic of Romulans, attack now!} You could say that if you meant that there were a crowd of people of many races, and you want everyone to ignore you except the Romulans, and you want THEM to attack NOW! You are only commanding Romulans.

It’s the difference between “Attack the Romulans NOW!” And “Hey, Romulans! Attack NOW!"

But that’s only one interpretation. It’s actually more confusing than that because you are merely stating that the Romulans are the topic, then you are telling some unspecified subject to attack some unspecified object. See the problem here?

pItlh

charghwI’ ‘utlh
(ghaH, ghaH, -Daj)




> On Jan 19, 2022, at 7:37 AM, mayqel qunen'oS <mihkoun at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> It may seem weird to be asking this now, after six years, but I just
> started to wonder about this.
> 
> According to tkd "The adverbial may actually follow the object noun
> (but still precede the verb) when the object noun is topicalized by
> means of the noun suffix {-'e'}". And then we have the Ca'Non example
> of {HaqwI' 'e' DaH yISam} "Find the SURGEON now!"
> 
> Suppose now that we want to say "attack the ROMULANS now!"
> 
> romuluSnganpu''e' DaH yIHIv
> romuluSnganpu''e' DaH tIHIv
> 
> Do we say {romuluSnganpu''e' DaH yIHIv}, or do we say
> {romuluSnganpu''e' DaH tIHIv}?
> 
> It seems strange having a prefix indicating that the verb has an
> object, but not seeing that object directly in front of the verb.
> 
> --
> Dana'an
> https://sacredtextsinklingon.wordpress.com/
> Ζεὺς ἦν, Ζεὺς ἐστίν, Ζεὺς ἔσσεται· ὦ μεγάλε Ζεῦ
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