Archive of Okrandian Canon
| Author | Marc Okrand, Will Martin, Roger Cheesbro |
|---|---|
| Date | 19 July 1999 |
| Summary | On the usage of chegh and tatlh. |
| Title | [chegh] and new word [tatlh] (from Marc) |
| Type |
Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 19:02:07 -0400 | Header from the message
To: tlhingan-hol@kli.org | forwarded to tlhingan-hol
From: TPO <cheesbro@rpa.net> |
Subject: [chegh] and new word [tatlh] (from Marc) |
From the startrek.klingon news group:
Will Martin wrote in message [snip]
>And since I don't have the interview with me, was {chegh}
>"return" one of
>those verbs that acts like {ghoS} and {jaH} in terms of
>having the locative
>suffix optional on the direct object, or is it more like
>{Hop} and {Sum}
>with assumptions made about relating the speaker with the
>place returned
>to?
{chegh} "return" seems to work like this:
lupDujHomDaq jIchegh "I return on the shuttle."
lupDujHom vIchegh "I return to the shuttle."
lupDujHomDaq may'Duj vIchegh "I return to the battle cruiser on the shuttle"
tera'vo' Qo'noS vIchegh "I return to Kronos from Earth"
({lupDujHom} "shuttle," {-Daq} "locative suffix," {jIchegh} "I return" consisting of {jI-} "I" [no object] plus {chegh} "return"; {vIchegh} "I return to" consisting of {vI-} "I [do something to] it" plus {chegh} "return [to]"; {may'Duj} "battle cruiser"; {tera'} "Earth," {-vo'} "from", {Qo'noS} "Kronos")
Note that {chegh} "return" means "return to a place"; the place being returned to is the object of the verb. If the place being returned to is not mentioned (as in, for example, the first sentence above, "I return on the shuttle"), the verb takes a prefix indicating "no object" (here {jI-}). If the place being returned to is mentioned (as in the final three sentences), the verb takes a pronominal prefix that indicates the object ({vI-} in the examples).
A different verb, {tatlh}, is used for "return" in the sense of returning a library book or returning a weapon to the weapons rack.
If someone were to say something like "I return the plate to the table," the appropriate verb would be {tatlh}:
raSDaq jengva' vItatlh
({raS} "table," {-Daq} "locative suffix," {jengva'} "plate," {vItatlh} "I return it" consisting of {vI-} "I [do something to] it" plus {tatlh} "return")
Though not common, it is also possible to use {tatlh} with the reflexive suffix {-'egh} ("do something to oneself") to convey a meaning similar to that of {chegh}:
pa'Daq jItatlh'egh "I return to the room"
({pa'} "room," {-Daq} "locative suffix," jItatlh'egh "I return myself" consisting of {jI-} "I," {tatlh} "return," {'egh} "reflexive suffix")
The {tatlh'egh} form seems to suggest that the doer of the action is forcing himself/herself to do something, perhaps because it is difficult or not desirable.