tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon May 25 11:20:49 1998
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Re: Inherently Plural Nouns
I answered tu'wI' request for a list of inherently plural nouns:
>> begh deflectors
>> chuyDaH thrusters (sg. vIj)
>> cha torpedoes (sg. peng)
>> ghISDen scales
>> HoSDo' energy beings (pl. only?)
>> jo resources (sg. Sup)
>> lolSeHcha attitude control thrusters
>> negh soldiers (sg. mang; cf. KGT 49f for discussion)
>> no' ancestors (sg. qempa')
>> ngop plates (sg. jengva')
>> paSlogh socks
>> pu'DaH phaser banks
>> QaS troops (not including officers)
>> Quv coordinates
>> ray' targets (sg. DoS)
>> wey ship's complement (crew + officers; cf. KGT 50)
>> 'aH paraphernalia
>>
>> Can anyone add to this list?
Qov already mentioned:
Duj instincts
I just thought of:
jIb hair on head
pob hair on body
... both of which are plural in some Terran languages, singular in others.
>When pluralizing the singular forms given above, would I use -mey, giving the
>"scattered about" connotation? For example, DoSmey - targets (scattered all
>over the place)
>
>tu'wI'
Yes, as Okrand states explicitly in TKD (2nd ed., p.24):
"The singular counterparts of such words are utterly distinct:
DoS target
peng torpedo
vIj thruster
The singular forms may take the -mey suffix, but the meaning always carries
the 'scattered all about' connotation:
DoSmey targets scattered all about
pengmey torpedoes all over the place
Inherently plural nouns are treated grammatically as singular nouns in that
singular pronouns are used to refer to them (sections 4.1, 5.1)."
(As Qov pointed out, Duj "instincts" is somewhat unusual in that both
singular and plural pronouns and prefixes may refer to it/them.)
Based on Okrand's use of -mey in his subsequent writings, my feeling is
that this "scattered all about" sense isn't very common. I'd advise using
it sparingly for greater effect.
Voragh