Newsgroups: msn.onstage.startrek.expert.okrand
Date: 29 Jun 1997
Subject: Re: Some quick questions...
Neal Schermerhorn
I have a few unrelated questions for Dr. Okrand.
I'll take these up one at a time (in separate responses).
1) Does qajatlh mean anything? Some feel this is poor grammar. I'm not
sure what to think. Can jatlh take an object other than a language?
The object of jatlh "speak" is that which is spoken. Thus, it's OK to say
"speak a language," for example:
tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh "you speak Klingon"
(tlhIngan Hol "Klingon language," Dajatlh "you speak it")
But it's also OK to say "speak an address, speak a lecture," for example:
SoQ Dajatlh "you speak an address" or, more colloquially, "you
deliver an address" or "you make a speech"
(SoQ "speech, lecture, address," Dajatlh "you speak it")
To say simply:
jatlh "he/she speaks"
implies "he/she speaks it," where "it" is a language or a lecture or
whatever.
The indirect object of jatlh, when expressed, is the hearer/listener.
Thus:
qama'pu'vaD tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh "you speak Klingon to the prisoners"
(qama'pu'vaD "for the prisoners," tlhIngan Hol "Klingon language,"
Dajatlh "you speak it")
qama'pu'vaD SoQ Dajatlh "you make a speech to the prisoners"
(qama'pu'vaD "for the prisoners," SoQ "speech, lecture, address,"
Dajatlh "you speak it")
When the indirect object (in this case, the hearer) is first or second
person, the pronominal prefix which normally indicates first or second
person object may be used. There are other examples of this sort of thing
with other verbs. For example, someone undergoing the Rite of Ascension
says:
tIqwIj Sa'angnIS "I must show you my heart"
(tIqwIj "my heart," Sa'angnIS "I must show you it")
The pronominal prefix in this phrase is Sa-, which means "I all of you" in such sentences as:
Salegh "I see you "
but when there's already an object (in this case, tIqwIj "my heart"), the
"object" of the prefix is interpreted as the indirect object, so Sa- means
"I it for you" or the like.
This, then, brings us back to your question. Since the object of jatlh is
that which is spoken, and since "you" or "I" or "we" cannot be spoken (and
therefore cannot be the object of the verb), if the verb is used with a
pronominal prefix indicating a first- or second-person object, that first
or second person is the indirect object.
Which is a not very elegant way of saying that qajatlh means "I speak to
you" or, more literally, perhaps "I speak it to you," where "it" is a
language or a speech or whatever:
qajatlh "I speak to you"
Sajatlh "I speak to you "
chojatlh "you speak to me"
tlhIngan Hol qajatlh "I speak Klingon to you"
(tlhIngan Hol "Klingon language," qajatlh "I speak it to you")
There's another wrinkle to this. The verb jatlh can also be used when
giving direct quotations:
tlhIngan jIH jatlh "he/she says, 'I am a Klingon'"
(tlhIngan "Klingon," jIH "I," jatlh "speak")
jatlh tlhIngan jIH "he/she says, 'I am a Klingon'"
(With verbs of saying, such as jatlh, the phrase that is being said or
cited may come before or after the verb.)
If the speaker is first or second person, the pronominal prefix indicating
"no object" is used:
tlhIngan jIH jIjatlh "I say, 'I am a Klingon'"
(jIjatlh "I speak")
tlhIngan jIH bIjatlh "you say, 'I am a Klingon'"
(bIjatlh "you speak")
There are instances where the pronominal prefix marks a big distinction in
meaning:
tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh "you speak Klingon"
(tlhIngan Hol "Klingon language," Dajatlh "you speak it")
tlhIngan Hol bIjatlh "you say, 'Klingon language'"
(tlhIngan Hol "Klingon language," bIjatlh "you speak")
I realize that this answer to your "quick" question is probably too quick
itself. It is not by any means a complete discussion of the several topics
mentioned and I may have phrased things not as clearly as they might be
phrased. As a result, this answer may end up just raising other questions.
qay'be'. We'll get to them as they come along.
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