<p>I don't know Vulcan, however I might be able to help you with your interpretation of the English:</p>

<p>"worth having is" isn't quite the string of verbs you might think it is.</p>

<p>Firstly, "worth having" is modifying the preceding noun phrase, rather than being part of some grouping with "is". This can most easily be shown by rearranging the sentence as such:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>To know one's own mind is the one self-knowledge worth having.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Furthermore, "worth" here is an adjective¹. It might help to expand the phrase out to the following:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"The one self-knowledge <em>that is</em> worth (one's) having."</p>
</blockquote>

<hr>

<p>¹ - "worth" is most commonly described as an adjective, however it does have some qualities which lead some to classify it as a preposition. For more detail see <a href="http://people.brandeis.edu/~maling/Maling1983_adjectives.pdf" rel="noreferrer">Joan Maling, 1983, "Transitive Adjectives: A Case of Categorial Reanalysis"</a>, pages 268-269.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-15T05:04:02.067Z
2018-02-15T05:04:02.067Z
Hotkeys
<p>I'm stumped - I'm sorta confused getting the proper phrasing svi'Vuhlkansu because the English grammar seems self-referencing for me to get the order right. The quote is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"The one self-knowledge worth having is to know one’s own mind." by FH Bradley</p>
</blockquote>

<p>"worth having is" seems like three verbs in a row, then "one's own" seems like I could omit "one's" and <em>nam-tor</em> can be stated by describing the noun, is it</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Kerik ma fai-tukh t’shai goh fai-tor kashek t’du.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>or am i missing it?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-15T11:07:14.907Z
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this question is mainly about the interpretation and analysis of an English sentence. Any relation to constructed languages is only accidental here.
Sir Cornflakes
<translation>
Self-reflexive verbs and pronouns in Vulcan language
# Self-reflexive verbs and pronouns in Vulcan language

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-02-15)

I'm stumped - I'm sorta confused getting the proper phrasing svi'Vuhlkansu because the English grammar seems self-referencing for me to get the order right. The quote is:

> "The one self-knowledge worth having is to know one’s own mind." by FH Bradley

"worth having is" seems like three verbs in a row, then "one's own" seems like I could omit "one's" and *nam-tor* can be stated by describing the noun, is it

> Kerik ma fai-tukh t’shai goh fai-tor kashek t’du.

or am i missing it?

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this question is mainly about the interpretation and analysis of an English sentence. Any relation to constructed languages is only accidental here.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-02-15. Score: 6

I don't know Vulcan, however I might be able to help you with your interpretation of the English:

"worth having is" isn't quite the string of verbs you might think it is.

Firstly, "worth having" is modifying the preceding noun phrase, rather than being part of some grouping with "is". This can most easily be shown by rearranging the sentence as such:

> To know one's own mind is the one self-knowledge worth having.

Furthermore, "worth" here is an adjective¹. It might help to expand the phrase out to the following:

> "The one self-knowledge *that is* worth (one's) having."

---

¹ - "worth" is most commonly described as an adjective, however it does have some qualities which lead some to classify it as a preposition. For more detail see [Joan Maling, 1983, "Transitive Adjectives: A Case of Categorial Reanalysis"](http://people.brandeis.edu/~maling/Maling1983_adjectives.pdf), pages 268-269.


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