While we don't have an example of *rIntaH* with an overt subject, we do have another data point we can use. When Okrand describes the tag question *qar'a'*, he says it can "follow the verb", the same phrase he uses to describe the placement of *rIntaH*. And we do have an example of *qar'a'* followed by an explicit subject: *De' Sov qar'a' HoD* *The captain knows the information, right? *Since Okrand describes both constructions as "following the verb", it seems reasonable to me to conclude that (for example) *De' Sov rIntaH HoD* *The captain knows the information for good* is the proper use of *rIntaH*. On Sat, Mar 9, 2019 at 1:50 AM De'vID <de.vid.jonpin@gmail.com> wrote:
On Fri, 8 Mar 2019 at 22:51, Will Martin <willmartin2@mac.com> wrote:
Doing it as {vIje’ rIntaH jIH} only makes sense if, given that written Klingon as we know it is phonetic spelling of spoken Klingon, somehow {rIntaH} has become a Type 10 suffix, so it always follows the verb and its other suffixes, and any subject would follow it. Otherwise, I see no justification for {rIntaH jIH}, since as a sentence, it would have to be {jIrIntaH jIH}.
If it's acting like a suffix, then it's surely acting like a type 7, namely, the {-ta'} that it's replacing. Since we have no examples of a type 8 ({-neS}) or type 9 following {rIntaH}, and the way we write Klingon is a phonetic transcription of how it's spoken, {vIje' rIntaH jIH} might as well be {vIje'rIntaH jIH} where {-rIntaH} is a two-syllable type 7 suffix. Indeed, since {ta'} "accomplish" and {taH} "continue" are verbs, one might speculate that they were verbs which became suffixes. Perhaps {rIntaH} is undergoing a similar evolution, but has resisted full assimilation as a suffix because it's two syllables.
But until we have a canon (counter)example either way, we can't tell.
-- De'vID _______________________________________________ tlhIngan-Hol mailing list tlhIngan-Hol@lists.kli.org http://lists.kli.org/listinfo.cgi/tlhingan-hol-kli.org