On 4/21/2020 9:39 AM, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
lieven:
I would not add a comma if it's just {A B
je}. There is no rule, but still the question
of why add one there? I see no need.
Indeed, there's no need. But I think it's better if someone sticks to one writing style throughout. If we're placing commas between compound nouns joined by {je}/{joq}/{ghap}, then why not act the same when just two nouns are concerned ?
I'm not saying that we *should*; I'm wondering whether it is possible.
Punctuation is largely a prescriptivist activity. You don't speak punctuation (unless you're Victor Borge), and most punctuation tends to be governed by whatever style guide you are using. There are some near-universals (e.g., put spaces between separate words — although even this isn't an absolute, as some style guides have you put hyphens between genitively-related nouns and some don't), but there is a lot of variation. There is no universal style guide for Klingon. So far as I know, not even a major Klingon writing project has developed an extensive style guide. There is no authority with the right to tell you how to punctuate. So do whatever you think best. I tend to waffle between minimalist punctuation and mimicking English punctuation. For instance, TKD has the non-punctuated sentences *bIjatlhHa'chugh qaHoH* and *qaHoH bIjatlhHa'chugh.* My English-punctuating brain wants to apply the rule that you separate a dependent clause from the main clause with a comma if the dependent clause precedes the main clause, but not if the dependent clause follows the main clause. *bIjatlhHa'chugh, qaHoH* but *qaHoH bIjatlhHa'chugh.* But my internal Klingon style guide tells me that that rule applies to English, where it's easy to tell where a dependent clause starts if it follows the main clause (the moment you see the /if,/ you know it's a dependent clause), but that the same logic doesn't apply to the Klingon grammar, in which the dependent-clause marker *-chugh* can be embedded between the verb and its subject and doesn't delineate the start or end of the clause. So I have to decide: how much am I going to punctuate? how consistent do I have to be? There are no authoritative answers here. In your case, you tend to heavily punctuate, partly because you like to throw in a lot of dependent clauses in places the grammar doesn't address, and partly I think out of too much caution. I recommend you try to reduce punctuation where possible, and be less concerned with following any kind of formula or rule that tells you where to put it without regard to its purpose. -- SuStel http://trimboli.name