tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 27 15:07:51 1998

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Re: Correct me if I'm wrong but..



Joel answered Ron Van Gurp:
>> -pu'/-mey pluralization suffix. 'Sentient' does not seem to be the
>> issue, or am I missing something? This raises an interesting
>> question (to me at least :-)): would the computer voice of e.g.
>> Enterprise be addressed as /ghoghlI'/ or /ghoghlIj/ in a sentence
>> like: De'wI', ghoghlI'/ghoghlIj chu'Ha'lu'pu'? 
>
> I think it is a judgement call, and that was my point. The decision 
> to use lI'/lIj pu'/mey are yours to make, and while often obvious, 
> your decision is part of what you communicate

Oops, read the question carefully.  The possessor, not the possession 
is of dubious sentience.  If the thing possessed is not itself a 
being of a type that is capable of speech, then use {-lIj}. Parts of 
beings, including the parts that participate in the speech process 
are still {-lIj}.  Definitely {ghoghlIj}.  Possibly {De'wI'lI', in 
the case of a scifi computer that is achieving sentience.

- Qov


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