Would someone with Marc's email address ask him how Klingons relate stories? In English it is customary to tell stories in the past tense, though sometimes we use the "historical present." I'm especially interested in whether Klingons perceive a "present moment" in storytelling, or whether the entire story is being looked at from after the end. In the latter case, perfective suffixes will be needed a lot more. An example. If a Klingon child were to ask his parent, *nuqDaq jIboghpu'?* /Where was I born?/ a parent without a story might answer, *veng wa'DIch ropyaHDaq bIboghpu'.*/You were born in First City Hospital./ It's all done and being looked at from the outside, so these sentences are perfective. But suppose the Klingon has to tell a story to explain the birth. Which one of these is the way it would be told—or is there some other style? Point of view follows the narrative: *yatlhtaHvIS SoSlI', wa' jaj HarghtaH yo'maj jagh yo' je. jIHvaD Qum ropyaH; jatlh «boghchoHmoHpu' be'nallI'! SIbI' naDev ghoS!» may' vInarghlaHbe', nuDechmo' jaghma'. jaghvaD jIjach; jIjatlh «boghtaH puqwI'! jISaHlaHbe'chugh, ghogh'ot SaDIlmoHbej!» SIbI' jegh jaghma' 'ej veng wa'DIch ropyaHDaq muDor. ghIq bIbogh.* Point of view is from after all of the events of the story are already completed: *yatlhtaHvIS SoSlI', wa' jaj HarghtaH yo'maj jagh yo' je. jIHvaD Qumpu' ropyaH; jatlhpu' «boghchoHmoHpu' be'nallI'! SIbI' naDev ghoS!» may' vInarghlaHbe', nuDechpu'mo' jaghma'. jaghvaD jIjachpu'; jIjatlhpu' «boghtaH puqwI'! jISaHlaHbe'chugh, ghogh'ot SaDIlmoHbej!» SIbI' jegh rIntaH jaghma' 'ej veng wa'DIch ropyaHDaq muDorta'. ghIq bIboghpu'.* ** -- SuStel http://trimboli.name