[tlhIngan Hol] baS 'In

[Lieven L. Litaer]

Am 28.01.2024 um 10:46 schrieb De'vID via tlhIngan-Hol:
> It seems like a fairly straightforward case of a noun-noun construction,
> with the first noun here {baS} "metal" being an attributive noun
> modifying the second noun {'In} "percussion instrument".

Thanks, that was what I had in mind, a little more scientific description.

> What could be more literal than "metal bell" (assuming {'In} is
> translated as "bell" rather than the more general "percussion
> instrument")? A "bell of metal" would also be an acceptable translation.

I am not sure how to explain that in English or Klingon grammar terms,
but I have a feeling that there are two kinds of noun noun construction,
even thoug they are both declared a genitive: One is like a way to
decribe the sort of a thing, the other is a possessive contstruction.

See, {baS 'In} is a bell made of metal. When I talk about {HoD 'In} it's
the bell of the captain. A less ambiguous example might be this:

{HoD qab vIlegh}
"I see the captain's face"

Here, the face belongs to the captain. That's why the English
translation uses the ['s].

Theoretically, one could argue you can omit that. Then, the meaning
would change to "a captain face" - parallel to a "pokerface". In that
case, one does not use the ['s] when translating to Klingon.

I do not intend to superimpose something into Klingon grammar what isn't
intended to be there. Maybe Klingon grammarians do not see the
difference. But I believe that semantically, there is a difference.

compare
I want to buy the captain's boots. [those he's wearing]
vs.
I want to buy some captain boots. [a type of boots]

In some cases like above it's ambiguous in Klingon (HoD DaS), but
sometimes it's clear that a {baS 'In} is definitely not an {'In} that is
owned by the {baS}. Instead, it's an {'In} /made of/ {baS}.

I hope anyone understands my point. I am not a linguist.


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