Speaking
The verb jatlh ("speak") takes as its object a noun that represents the thing being spoken - Hol a languge, SoQ a speech, lecture, or adddress, mu'ghom a sentence, etc. The indirect object (the listener) is marked using -vaD ("for, to").
- tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh - You speak Klingon.
- SoQ Dajatlh - You deliver a speech. (SoQ - speech)
- qama'pu'vaD tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh - You speak Klingon to the prisoners.
- qama'pu'vaD SoQ Dajatlh - You deliver a speech to the prisoners.
When the hearer is first or second person, the pronominal prefix typically used for objects is interpreted as referring to the indirect object (the listener). Since “you” or “I” cannot be the object of jatlh (you cannot “speak” a person), the object in such cases must be what is spoken, and the person is the recipient of the speech.
- qajatlh - I speak to you.
- Sajatlh - I speak to you (plural).
- chojatlh - You speak to me.
- tlhIngan Hol qajatlh - I speak Klingon to you.
Quotations
jatlh, along with similar verbs like ja' ("tell") and HIt ("think, talk to oneself"), may be used to introduce direct quotations. The quoted phrase can come either before or after the verb:
- tlhIngan jIH jatlh - He/she says, "I am a Klingon."
- jatlh tlhIngan jIH - He/she says, "I am a Klingon."
- tlhIngan jIH jIjatlh - I say, "I am a Klingon."
- bIjatlh tlhIngan jIH - You say, "I am a Klingon."
- wIjwI' ghaH qajatlh - I say to you, "He is a Farmer."
Care should be taken with prefixes, as they can change the meaning significantly:
- tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh - You speak Klingon.
- tlhIngan Hol bIjatlh - You say "Klingon language."
The first example means you are using the Klingon language. The second means you simply said the phrase "Klingon language." The difference is subtle but important.
However, depending on the content, tlhIngan Hol Dajatlh could mean You say to her, "Klingon language".