TGV/MGV - Lesson 15
Ba-|Iyi-Gol-Vuhlkansu - Tupa 15

INTERROGATIVES
Deshkaun-Zhitlar

New Vocabulary
Uzh-Zhit-Feim

If which?
Lu when?
Po why?
Ra what?
t'Vi whose?
Uf how?
Uf mau how much?
Uf wehk how many?
Vi who?
Wilat where?

Ha yes
Rai no

Tab-ma late
Va'ashiv again
Weh-rasahkos worse
Weh-rom better

Ash'ai sock
Ash'el shoe
Kahm meat
Ko-mekh mother
Malanu pants
Patam-sai cap, hat
Pelal robe
Sa-mekh father
San-zhel belt
Sav'el shirt
To-pal coat
To-sai cloak
Wak time


Notes
Pitohlar

1. A large percentage of Earth languages use some sort of "question mark" or other punctuation device to demonstrate that the sentence is a question. None of the Golic Vulcan languages uses a question mark, so it is not quickly obvious to the student of an Earth language that a sentence is a question. Most questions are formed simply by the use of an interrogative word at the end of the sentence. For example, >Kluflar t'nash-veh wilat< means "Where are my boots?" (literally "Boots of mine where?"). The question word is often spoken with a rising tone.

2. So-called "yes-no" questions are handled differently. The word normally used for "yes" is placed at the end of the question and pronounced with a rising tone. For example, >Olau tu has-bosh ha< means "Are you feeling ill?" (literally "Feel you ill yes?"). Speakers of Federation Standard English might find it easier to remember this structure by recalling the similar sounding "huh?" often used in informal speech. These are answered with ha or rai.

3. If the tone of the question is quiet or normal, the sentence ends with an ek'pehkaya (full-stop) which is like a period. If the tone of the question is excited or loud, the sentence ends with a dah-pehkaya (double-stop) which is like an exclamation point. These rules apply to all questions. Speakers of Federation Standard English may initially find it strange to see a period or exclamation mark at the end of a question, but familiarity will come quickly through practice.

4. Sentence constructions for some questions will seem awkward to the student at first, due to the differences in grammar and word usage between the languages. For example, to ask "How hot is it?" you actually need to ask "Is heat how much?" (>Nam-tor falek uf mau.<) or "How are you?" would be "Feel you how?" (>Olau tu uf.<), etc.


Exercise 1
Tusok 1

Translate the following into Federation Standard English:

1. To-pal t'du wilat. 2. Sehlatlar t'nash-veh wilat. 3. Ma malanu t'sa-veh vi. 4. Tishau ko-veh pelal if. 5. Tishau weh-rom ash'ailar if. 6. Shitau T'Luki moneklar wilat. 7. Gla-tor du dunap t'Sonok ha. 8. Ma sa-kan heh ko-kan san-zhellar ha. 9. Yokul kosu yarmok ha. 10. Yokul sasu kahm ha. 11. Nam-tor wak ra. 12. Lasha sa-mekh t'du lu. 13. Nam-tor du tab-ma va'ashiv po.

Exercise 2
Tusok 2

Translate the following into Golic Vulcan:

1. Where is my coat? 2. Where are your sehlats? 3. Who has my pants? 4. Which robe do you like? 5. Which socks do you like better? 6. Where does Sonok put the cups? 7. Do you see T'Luki's book? 8. Do the boy and girl have coats? 9. Does the man eat salad? 10. Does the woman eat meat? 11. What time is it? 12. When does your mother arrive? 13. Why are they late again?


The student is encouraged to learn further by making new sentences based on words from the dictionaries.

This lesson was put online on
January 5, 2001.
And updated on
October 25, 2006 and October 5, 2014.




All original work on these pages ©1980-2016 by Mark R. Gardner et al
operating as the Vulcan Language Institute™.

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