[tlhIngan Hol] SetqIn

[Lieven L. Litaer]

On the discord channel, there were questions about the difference
between {'e' qa'} and {SetqIn}.

To clarifiy the meaning of the new word that appeared in Klingon "Alice
in Wonderland", they asked me to publish the entire discussion that led
to the word, as it is not published in the book.

My request was:
"this time" – this expression appears very often, and I'm not sure how
to render it. It's used to express things like "I failed my exams five
times, but this time, I'm sure I will pass." – "I returned to Paris, and
this time, the Eiffeltower was not closed." The word {DaH} seems to
vague for me.

Okrand answered:
<<<
Depending on context and the exact meaning of the phrase, you can use
DaH, SIbI', tugh, ghIq, or ngugh. You can also use the idiomatic
expression pumDI' "by that time, by the time that (something happened)."

DaH doesn't necessarily refer to the moment of speaking. If you're
talking about something in the past, it could refer to a moment in the
past. English "now" works the same way: "We had been studying for weeks
and now we were finally ready to take the test."

I suspect that sometimes, depending on context, you may be able to leave
the "this time" out altogether. The meaning may change somewhat, but
perhaps not significantly:

    "I'm tired of always having rice; give me a potato this time" could
be just "I'm tired of always having rice; give me a potato."
    "She wanted to eat some ice cream. She liked all of the flavors the
store had, but she chose chocolate (this time)."
(If the meaning does change significantly, of course, this is not a good
technique.)

Or you can just use the adverbial SetqIn "alternatively, instead,
rather" or jaS "differently."
 >>>

This is archived at
http://klingon.wiki/Word/SetkIn


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