[Tlhingan-hol] Because you mentioned it (Was: Expressing instrumentality)

[SuStel]

On 4/21/2016 8:58 AM, lojmIttI'wI'nuv wrote:
> This is why I hate this construction. You, SuStel, and I don’t seem to 
> be able to agree on what it means, so perhaps it’s a good idea to 
> avoid this construction, unless Okrand ever gets around to explaining 
> it better. Unless Voragh has evidence as to how this should be 
> interpreted.
>
> So, help me out here. If I want to say “Krankor taught Seqram the 
> Klingon language,” should I say, {tlhIngan HolvaD Seqram ghojmoHta' 
> Qanqor} or should I say, {SeqramvaD tlhIngan Hol ghojmoHta’ HoD Qanqor.}

The latter. *HoD Qanqor* is the subject; he's the one who does something 
in a syntactic sense. *tlhIngan Hol* is the direct object; it's the 
thing that is *ghoj*'d. *SeqramvaD* is the indirect object; he's the one 
who receives the result of *HoD Qanqor*'s action.

The key to understanding this is not to let that *-moH* mentally flip 
words around in the sentence. Never, ever think of *tlhIngan Hol* in the 
above as the "subject of the causation" or any crazy thing like that. 
Treat it as an otherwise perfectly normal sentence. The subject does 
something. The direct object has something done to it. The indirect 
object receives or benefits by something being done. The /something/ I 
speak of is not necessarily the same /something/ in each case: with 
*-moH* the subject /causes/ the action instead of /doing/ the action, 
but the action is still /done to/ the direct object.

This also applies to sentences that aren't ditransitive. *tlhIngan 
vIQeHmoH*/I make the Klingon angry./ I am the subject; I do something 
(make the Klingon angry). *tlhIngan* is the direct object; he has 
something done to him (being made angry). There is no magical flipping 
from *QeH tlhIngan* to *tlhIngan QeHmoH.* Just determine who is acting 
and what is being acted upon.

All of us old-timers spent so long flipping subject to object in 
*-moH*'d sentences that it's hard to break out of the habit. Just apply 
the normal rules of syntax from square one; don't start with an 
un*-moH*'d sentence then turn it into a *-moH*'d sentence. The subject 
does something (even if it is to cause something); the direct object has 
something done to it; the indirect object receives the results of that 
action.
**

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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