ok, I think I understand.. so, if I want to ask "who are you", then both {SoH 'Iv}, and {'Iv SoH} are the same, right ? and if I want to ask 'what is this", then both {'oH nuq}, and {nuq 'oH} are the same right ? On Wed, Jun 22, 2016 at 4:43 PM, SuStel <sustel@trimboli.name> wrote:
On 6/22/2016 9:18 AM, mayqel qunenoS wrote:
De'vID:
Saying {jIH mayqel} is like saying "Me Tarzan". It'll be understood, but it's not grammatical.
thank you for replying ; however what you wrote, contradicts SuStel's input which is the following :
SuStel :
A Klingon to-be sentence expresses the idea X = Y. 'elaDya'ngan jIH me = Greek; mayqel jIH me = Michael. There is no a, an, or the in Klingon."
if X=Y, then Y=X right ?
I did not intend to suggest that Klingon grammar can be manipulated by the rules of mathematics.
furthermore, SuStel wrote..
SuStel :
You should more or less ignore the ideas of subject and object with regard to to-be sentences.
I can understand ignoring the ideas of subject and object with regard to to-be sentences ; but how placing the {mayqel} after the {jIH} is able to produce "me michael" ? Since in to-be sentences X=Y and vice versa, if {jIH mayqel} produces "me michael", then {mayqel jIH} must produce the same result too. right ?
I don't quite agree with De'vID's analogy of me Tarzan. Klingon's normal mode of to-be sentences are like me Tarzan. tlhIngan jIH is the equivalent of saying me Klingon. The only difference is that the Klingon pronoun can take suffixes for added meaning. Saying SuStel 'oH pongwIj'e' is the equivalent of saying SuStel me name.
Notice that I say equivalent. Do not try to copy the grammar of me Tarzan into Klingon. It is only an illustration. Klingon's to-be sentence rules must simply be learned. They are what they are because they simply are.
When associating a noun with a pronoun, the noun comes first. It doesn't matter whether the noun is a common noun or a proper noun. Human jIH. SuStel jIH.
When linking two nouns together, one noun is the "topic" or "subject" noun. This is the noun you're "starting" with. The other noun is the noun being introduced later. Human ghaH SuStel'e' as for SuStel, he is a human. Here, SuStel is the topic or subject; Human is the noun being introduced to associate with him. yaHDajDaq ghaHtaH SuStel'e' as for SuStel, he is at his duty station. SuStel is the topic or subject; yaHDajDaq is being used to associate with him.
SoH 'Iv and 'Iv SoH appear in both forms because (a) Okrand probably forgot he did it one way, and (b) 'Iv is a kind of pronoun too, so either word can satisfy the pronoun part of a to-be sentence.
-- SuStel http://trimboli.name
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