On 11/3/2016 10:34 AM, mayqel qunenoS wrote:
I remember having discussed here, that klingon doesn't possess the grammar to say "if klingon possessed an irrealis suffix, then I wouldn't be writing this post".
So far so good..
I've been trying to find a way to overcome this problem
While Klingon does not possess any formal irrealis grammar like a subjunctive mood, it can still express irrealis nonetheless. *bIje'be'chugh vaj bIHegh */if you do not buy then you will die/ Klingon employs no special grammar for the irrealis of /you will die,/ a statement which is not a prediction of definite future events but describes what will happen /only if/ you fail to buy. Even in English no special irrealis is used in the /you will die/ part.
if I possessed foresight, I would have known my dog is stupid
*QIp */dog/*wIj 'e' vISov, **leSSov vIghajchugh * Without using any special grammar, but employing context, this statement is already an expression of irrealis. /paq'batlh/ has a couple of examples. Here's one: *jIlay'DI' reH batlh jIpabchugh Qapla'meywIj Hoch vIta'ta' 'e' DaHar'a' */Did you think that my word of honor Would have carried me this far?/ Also note that the word /irrealis/ means anything that states something other than actually is. *taHjaj wo'*/long live the Empire!/ is an irrealis, for instance, as it is making a wish for something, not stating something that is. *-jaj* is a suffix which specifically introduces this kind of irrealis. *-chugh* introduces a conditional irrealis. So whenever in English you find yourself saying "would have," just use a normal indicative-mood sentence, but give it enough context to make it clear that you are being hypothetical. *Saleghchugh SaQoypa', Sagho', */orc/ *mach tlhIH 'e' vIHarmo', 'ej jIQaghpu' pIq 'e' vItu'.* -- SuStel http://trimboli.name