[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: naj

[David Trimboli]

On 8/31/2013 2:11 PM, Bellerophon, modeler wrote:
> If the wiki is correct, then {lut vIja'pu'} wouldn't mean "I told the
> story" but rather "I told him/her/them the story", as opposed to {lut
> qaja'pu'} or {lut Saja'pu'}. And {Dotlh yIja'} would mean "Report
> status to him!" (apparently someone else needs that report) as
> opposed to {Dotlh HIja'} "Report status (to me)!" I guess clipped
> would be simply {Dotlh ja'}.

The prefix trick only works with first- and second-person object
prefixes. Assuming {ja'} can take a direct object that is the thing
spoken of, {lut vIja'pu'} can only mean "I told the story"; {Dotlh
yIja'} can only mean "Report status!"

> I'm confused about indirect quotes.

There are no indirect quotations in Klingon.

> Acc. to TKD, neither {'e'} nor {net} is used with {jatlh} or {ja'}.
> You don't say {*qama'pu' neH 'e' jatlh la'}, but if you say {qama'pu'
> neH jatlh la'} what does it mean? "The commander says (that) he wants
> prisoners" or "The commander says, 'He wants prisoners.' "

The latter. You can get a better sense for it if you reverse the order
of the sentences, which is allowed with direction quotations:

jatlh la' qama'pu' neH

Here you'll be less inclined to read it as a "that" construction.

<qama'pu' neH>, jatlh la'.
jatlh la', <qama'pu' neH>.

> A direct quote would be {jatlh la' qama'pu' vIneH} (the commander
> says, "I want prisoners"), but speaking in someone else's voice in
> such a situation seems awkward and presumptuous, at least for English
> speakers.

There is no indication that Klingon-speakers feel this way.

-- 
SuStel
http://www.trimboli.name/