On 8/11/2017 9:18 AM, mayqel qunenoS wrote:
I was wondering whether we can pack into a single klingon sentence, the question:
"When did you buy the phone, which you now use ?"
If we translated it exactly, then perhaps we would have:
{ghorgh DaH ghogh HablI' Dalo'bogh Daje' ?}
But the existence, side-by-side of {ghorgh} and {DaH}, results in an awkward sentence.
The only solution I can think of, is omitting the {DaH} and placing a {-taH} on the {lo'} like this:
{ghorgh ghogh HablI' Dalo'taHbogh Daje' ?}
But would there be another way to do this ?
Your solution of adding *-taH* doesn't contain the /now/ meaning you're trying to move. This could just as easily mean /When did you buy the phone which you were using? / Relative clauses only like to get so complicated before they become confusing. I think you're correct in thinking that this one is awkward. The trouble isn't so much putting *ghorgh* next to *DaH,* but in recognizing that all the stuff you're saying after *ghorgh* is actually a relative clause -- you have to wait so long before you hear the *-bogh* that it may not be clear that it really is a relative clause, and you'll have to adjust your understanding of the sentence once you do figure that out. I would break the relative clause out into a topic, like so: *DaH ghogh HablI''e' Dalo'bogh: ghorgh Daje'?* This is still a single sentence, and it's technically grammatical, though it plays a bit loose with exactly what the object of the main clause is (it's *'oH*, not *DaH ghogh HablI''e' Dalo'bogh*). -- SuStel http://www.trimboli.name/