[tlhIngan Hol] {So'} and {meQ}

[De'vID]

Based on previous usage, the verbs {So'} "hide" and {meQ} "burn" seem to
mean both "subject does something to object" and "subject experiences the
thing that would've been done to the object" when there is no object.

Dr. Okrand told me that the intended meaning of {So'} is that the subject
hides the object, and that the TKD example {nuqDaq So'taH yaS} means "Where
is the officer hiding [something]?" He apparently messed it up when he
simplified the example to focus on the usage of {nuqDaq}. The way it's done
in Star Trek Into Darkness, {DaH pIghvamDaq So''eghtaH}, is correct for
when someone hides themselves. A {So'wI'} is a device that hides something
else, and {yISo'rup} means "prepare to hide [the ship]". (This affects a
line in the paq'batlh where {-'egh} will be added in the 2ed.)

I think he's a bit reluctant to declare that something in TKD is an error
when it can be avoided, so I think what we can say about it is that {So'}
usually means the subject hides the object (or hides something in general,
if there's no object), but that for reasons unknown, there are rare
instances where it's used without an object to mean the subject is hiding
itself. (And then we can just ignore the TKD example sentence, since every
other example uses the "subject hides object" meaning.)

The verb {meQ} is used several times in the paq'batlh. It's also been used
several times previously, elsewhere. I presented Dr. Okrand with all of the
usages of {meQ} and also several possible definitions corresponding to
those usages: "burn, be on fire", "burn, cause to be on fire", "be burnt".
He wrote that it would normally have the first definition (and thus
{meQmoH} is needed to express setting something on fire). However, due to
the influence of {mIQ}, {meQ} is used differently in the context of food
preparation. Thus, you could say {to'waQ meQ vutwI'} "the cook burns the
tendon" and {Ha'DIbaHmey meQ} "burnt animals", but not *{juH qachDaj meQ}
"he burned his house" or *{qach meQ} "a burnt building" (I guess unless
you're talking about someone who eats buildings as a part of their
cuisine). The paq'batlh consistently uses {meQ} to mean "be on fire" and
{meQmoH} to mean "set on fire".

-- 
De'vID
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