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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">Here’s an old post from Okrand you’ll find useful:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D">--Voragh<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">************************************************************************<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">From: MarcOkrand<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Newsgroups: msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Date: December 12, 1996<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Subject: What do you think?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">[ … ]<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">(2) You suggested translating "What is your favorite month?" as:
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <b>jarlIj qaq nuq</b>?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">This one's a little easier to deal with. Your sentence literally means<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">"What is your preferable month?" The basic syntax is correct. Question<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">words (in this case, <b>nuq</b> "what?") function the same way pronouns do in<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">questions with "to be" in the English translations. Thus, the question<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">yIH nuq</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">? "What is a tribble?" is exactly parallel the statement
<b>yIH 'oH</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">"It is a tribble" (where <b>
yIH </b>is "tribble" and <b>'oH </b>is "it"). The answer to the question <b>yIH nuq</b>? ("What is a tribble?") would presumably be a<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">definition or description of a tribble. This being the case, then, the<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">answer to the question <b>
jarlIj qaq nuq</b>? ("What is your preferable month?") would presumably be a definition of "your favorite month." But this is not what you want to find out by asking your question. What you really mean to ask is something like "Of all the months, which one
do you prefer?" <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">The first word in your sentence,
<b>jarlIj</b>, means "your month" (<b>jar </b>"month," <b>-lIj </b>"your"). But given that what you're really asking is "Which month do you prefer?" it's not really "your month" at all. The "you" should go with the verb, not with "month."
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Which brings us to the verb. You use
<b>qaq</b>, "be preferable," adjectivally<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">(<b>jarlIj qaq </b>is "your preferable month"). I think what you mean is better<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">expressed by using the verb
<b>maS </b>"prefer" with "you" as the subject: <b>jar<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">DamaS</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> "you prefer the month." If you want to highlight the notion of<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">"most prefer," you can use the emphatic suffix -<b>qu'</b>:
<b>jar DamaSqu'</b> "you<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">very much prefer the month." (In this case, since "prefer" involves<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">making a choice, the one chosen is automatically the one that is "most"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">preferred.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">So what about the "what" (or "which") of your original question<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">("What/which is your favorite month?")? When asking someone a question of<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">this type, you are really asking him or her to make a choice. So just be<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">a Klingon and order them to do so: "Identify the month that you very much prefer!":
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> jar DamaSqu'bogh yIngu'
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">DamaSqu'bogh </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt">"that you very much prefer" (<b>DamaSqu'
</b>"you very much prefer<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">it" plus -<b>bogh </b>"which," the relative-clause marker) modifies
<b>jar </b>"month"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">and the whole phrase <b>jar DamaSqu'bogh
</b>"the month that you very much<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">prefer" is the object of the verb
<b>ngu'</b> ("identify"), which is preceded by the imperative prefix <b>yI</b>- ("do something to it!").
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">[ … ]<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">************************************************************************<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> tlhIngan-Hol [mailto:tlhingan-hol-bounces@lists.kli.org]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>mayqel qunenoS<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I really can't think of a reason why this could be wrong..<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">It is sweet and simple; the answer goes right into the place of {nuq} and we're all happy..<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">~ nIghma'<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Oct 25, 2017 9:52 PM, "mayqel qunenoS" <<a href="mailto:mihkoun@gmail.com">mihkoun@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<blockquote style="border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in">
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<p class="MsoNormal">We know that we can't say {nuq jar DamaS} for "which month you prefer ?".<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">But if we say:<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">{jar'e' nuq DamaS ?}<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">as for a month, which do you prefer ?<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Would this be correct ?<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">~ nIghma'<o:p></o:p></p>
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