[tlhIngan Hol] Three questions about the *paq'batlh*

[luis.chaparro at web.de]

Thank you very much, SuStel, De'vID and charghwI' for your answers!

SuStel:

> taw vIghoS I go along the road.

> vaS'a'Daq taw vIghoS I go along the road toward the Great Hall.

De'vID:

>> Let me illustrate the ambiguity. vaS'a'Daq vIjaH. This is actually ambiguous. Does it mean that vaS'a'Daq is the object, or does it mean vaS'a'Daq 'oH vIjaH, where the pronoun had been elided?

> I had a chat with Dr. Okrand about this some years ago. This isn't actually ambiguous, because when the prefix can indicate an object, and there's a noun marked with {-Daq}, then (usually, generally, etc. - the usual qualifications) it is the object unless there's another noun or a pronoun. This is actually implied by the examples in TKD but not explained clearly. 

> {DujDaq ghoStaH} "It is approaching toward the ship."
> {pa'Daq yIjaH} "Go to the room!"
 
> These cannot mean "It is approaching something on the ship" and "Go to it in the room!" If you wanted to say those sentences, you'd have to explicitly add an {'oH} or something.

I have some more questions about this:

1. *vengDaq taw vIghoS* would be however (without further context) ambiguous, right? It could mean: *I go along the road toward the city* or *I go along the road in the city*.

2. Is it allowed to put also a *-Daq* in the object when we have another noun with *-Daq*?: *vengDaq tawDaq vIghoS*.

3. De'vID says that when the prefix *can* indicate an object, and we have a noun with *-Daq*, this noun is (usually) the object unless there's another noun or a pronoun. Couldn't these both examples have the following meanings too?:

*DujDaq ghoStaH* - It is approaching on the ship.
*pa'Daq yIjaH* - Go in the room!

*DujDaq vIghoStaH* would be clear (*I'm approaching toward the ship*), because *vI-* indicate an object, but in the examples above the prefixes *could* also indicate no object.

4. How can I distinguish between *I go along the road* and *I approach toward the road*? Following SuStel's explanation, and supposing I've understood it right, I would say *taw vIghoS* could only mean *I go along the road*, *tawDaq vIghoS* would have two meanings: *I go along the road* with a redundant *-Daq* or *I go along (something) toward the road* with an elided pronoun. But with De'vID's explanation I'm not sure any more.

charghwI':

> We tend to question whether these borderline poetry, revealed ancient Klingon writings mean exactly what the English means, and we tend to forget that we might not accurately understand what the English means.

I'm often not very sure if I understand what the English means :-)