[Tlhingan-hol] paS (was: Question regarding purpose clauses)

[De'vID jonpIn]

loghaD:
> {qaSuchmeH jIpaSqu'.} - Marc Okrand was asked if this could mean something like "I was going to visit you, but was too late", but Marc describes replies thusly:
> "Perhaps, then, a better English rendition of the Klingon sentence is "In order for me to visit you, I'll be very late."   This suggests that the visit did or will take place (though later, perhaps, than desired), which is not the intended meaning."
> http://klingonska.org/canon/search/?file=1998-01-18b-news.txt&get=source
>
> One could come up with situations where being late would be beneficial to the act of visiting somebody (for instance, you could be late to work because you want to visit a friend on the way), but that's clearly not the case here: {jIpaSqu'} states something about how the goal is accomplished, but it is not itself the means to an end.

Why not?  It's not that clear to me.  In English, "late" has two meanings.

(1) to miss an opportunity, deadline, etc.  Example: "He was late to
the party, i.e., by the time he arrived it was over"

(2) to take place in the latter part of the day or some other time
period.  Example: "He went late to the cinema, i.e., the movie had
several show times from morning to past midnight, and he attended the
midnight showing"

Now, do we have any evidence that {paS} is restricted to just the
first meaning?  Otherwise, it's certainly plausible that someone could
be late to accomplish the purpose of visiting someone (e.g., he's not
home earlier, or the visitor is otherwise occupied earlier).

--
De'vID