[tlhIngan Hol] Does the {'e' qa'} express a preference ?

In english one can say: "I learn klingon rather than vulcan" ; meaning simply "I don't learn vulcan, I learn klingon". On the other hand one can say "I'd rather learn klingon instead of vulcan", expressing a preference: "I prefer to learn klingon instead of vulcan". So, the question is, is the {'e' qa'} just a "neutral" "rather/instead of", or is it (too) the wishful "I'd rather ?" The way I understand it, it seems to be the neutral variant, but I would like to make certain. ~ mayqel qunen'oS