[Tlhingan-hol] Stative verbs after je

[Steven Boozer]

ghItlhpu' bI'reng, jatlh:
>> Is there any consensus or canon for using stative verbs with nouns
>> joined by {je}? Can you say something like {yaSpu', negh je, po'} for
>> "skilled officers and soldiers"?

jangpu' QeS 'utlh:
> I don't know of any canon for it, but it seems to follow all the rules,
> so grammatically I think it works (though I'd leave the commas out).
> 
> With that said, Klingon is more tolerant of repetition than English, so
> personally I'd put this as yaSpu' po' negh po' je, a construction we do
> have a canon example of:
>     HoS law'qu' luch law'qu' je
>     "a huge amount of the ship's power and technology"
>     (Skybox card SP3: tlhIngan wIy)

The full sentence is:

   HoS law'qu' luch law'qu' je lo' Duj nuH pat Hub pat je 
   A huge amount of the ship's power and technology is devoted to its
   weapons grid and defensive systems. (SP3)

BTW note the repetition in the string of nouns:  {Duj nuH pat Hub pat je} instead of *{nuH Hub je pat}.  This pattern is repeated in:

   QeD patmey noch patmey je 
   science and remote sensing systems  (KBoP)

Another example of repeating the quality with each noun is:

   lenglIj lutebjaj lengwIjvaD bel rap, Sov rap, ngoQ rap je Danobpu'bogh 
   May your journey be filled with the same joy, wisdom, and purpose you
   have given mine. (Frasier)

Note: {bel rap, Sov rap, ngoQ rap je} "the same joy, wisdom, and purpose".
 
> yaSpu' negh je po' is grammatically fine, but it seems unidiomatic to
> me. It feels a bit like "mon nom est X" ("my name is X") in French: it
> follows the rules and it says what you want to say, but most French-
> speakers wouldn't say it that way.

That Klingon is certainly more tolerant of repetition than English can certainly be seen in:

DujvamDaq tlhIngan nuH tu'lu'bogh pov law' Hoch pov puS 'ej DujvamDaq 'op SuvwI' tu'lu'bogh po' law' tlhIngan yo' SuvwI' law' po' puS
It [IKC Pagh] has the best weapons and some of the finest warriors in the Klingon fleet. (S7}


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons