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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 9/28/2020 4:34 PM, Will Martin
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:29C4EB86-C3A8-4198-A75E-67EE22F93191@mac.com">
<div class="">tlhIngan maH. taHjaj.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">The first sentence obviously means “We are
Klingons.” Given that “we” are plural, it’s obvious that the
Klingons that we are — are also plural.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">The second sentence? Since the subject is not first
person plural, we’re not saying, “May we endure.” It’s third
person. Singular? Plural? Given context, I’d say plural. </div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">So, what third person plural noun were we just given
in context? “Klingons”.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">“May Klingons endure!”</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Our wish is not merely that WE endure, but that all
Klingons endure.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">It’s stylistically appropriate to omit the second
instance of the noun {tlhIngan}, though it would not be in any
way inappropriate to include it. It’s just a matter of personal
style. TKD tells us that repeating a noun in a situation like
this is not considered wrong, yet a lot of canon examples
suggest that the omission is also not in any way wrong.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">So, “We are Klingons. May Klingons endure!”</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">It’s got nothing to do with the pronoun {‘e’} or
with any attempt at *Sentence As Subject*, which is not a legal
grammatical construction in Klingon. We’re just saying two
different things about Klingons:</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">1. We are members of their race.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">2. We wish them to continue/endure.</div>
</blockquote>
<p>That's one possible interpretation. Here's another: it's Clipped
Klingon, short for <b>tlhIngan maH. mataHjaj!</b></p>
<p>And yet another: a noun has elided: <b>tlhIngan maH. taHjaj
ghu'vam!</b></p>
<p>Or a more specific one: <b>tlhIngan maH. taHjaj wo'!</b></p>
<p>Or maybe this is an example of a verb whose subject is just so
well understood that it's never actually stated, like when a
Klingon feels water falling from the sky and says<b> SIS.</b> What
is the subject of <b>SIS?</b> Nothing specific, but we understand
the sentence all the same.<br>
<b></b></p>
<p>The point is we don't KNOW exactly what the grammar of this
non-canonical sentence is, so we shouldn't go developing our
understanding of grammar on it.<br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
SuStel
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://trimboli.name">http://trimboli.name</a></pre>
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