tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Apr 30 08:15:13 1998
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RE: yeesh. right. wrong. jISaHbe'! (was Re: Correct me if I'm wrong but..)
- From: Joel Peter Anderson <[email protected]>
- Subject: RE: yeesh. right. wrong. jISaHbe'! (was Re: Correct me if I'm wrong but..)
- Date: Thu, 30 Apr 1998 10:15:17 -0500 (CDT)
- In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
On Thu, 30 Apr 1998, Holtej wrote:
> > When I call our new puppy "he" rather than "it", when I speak to him, and
> > "interact" as if he understood, I convey my high estimation of or hopes
> > for his intelligence. If I were to call a group of warriors SuvwI'mey
> > (assuming I had a clue and a bucket to carry it in) I convey my low regard
> > for them.
>
> No, all you would convey is the fact that they are scattered all about.
> There's nothing derogatory about that. I believe the only derogatory
> inference comes about with the possessive suffixes, not the plural ones.
> So, /SoSlIj/ is derogatory, /SoSmey/ is not.
>
> If I am wrong (I don't keep a copy of TKD at work, can you believe it?),
> please correct me.
Ah, you are correct. (I *do* have a battered 1st edition TKD in my book
bag)
So suvwI'-mey/pu' was a bad example - yours is better, of course. -mey is
just the general plural (with -Du' for body parts and -pu' for the
language capable). As you note -mey on "people"s (like children) means
they are scattered about. I suppose you could insult a commander and her
company by referring to her soldiers as : SuvwI'pu'lIj ...
joel anderson * http://members.aol.com/JPKlingon * [email protected]
**mIghghachvo' yImej 'ej yIQaQ; roj yInej 'ej Dochvam yItlha'**
**Depart from evil, and do good; Seek peace, and pursue it**