tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jan 13 13:02:08 2006
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Re: easy question
Voragh:
> > Has he ever used a number with the inherently plural form of these
> > nouns?
lay'tel SIvten:
> wa' DoS neH yIbuS.
> Focus on but one target.
> [TKW p. 81]
Voragh:
> > Nope. {DoS} is singular, {ray'} is plural.
lay'tel SIvten:
>You're right about the singular and plural, but what are you saying "Nope" to?
>The example just shows another instance of a number with an inherently
>singular noun.
Indeed, but I was asking for examples of numbers with inherently plural nouns.
>[Is there a term for these nouns with different plurals (maybe "defective
>nouns")?]
{Duy'} "be defective" vs. {pup} "be perfect"?
Arabic grammarians use "broken plural" to refer to those nouns that don't
simply add a suffix (e.g. "a Moslem" muslim [sg.], muslimiin [pl.]) but
change the internal vowel pattern and often the stress (e.g. "book" kitaab
[sg.], kutub [pl.]; "[religious] school, seminary" madrasah [sg.], madaaris
[pl.]).
What do we call them in English (e.g. child vs. children; person vs. people)?
I think just "irregular" is the simplest. There are a couple of choices in
Klingon: {le'} "be special/exceptional" vs. {le'be'} "be unexceptional" or
{motlh} "be usual, be normal, be standard" vs. {motlhbe'} "be unusual".
BTW, how do we refer to singular vs. plural nouns at all? I though of
using with {law'} "be many" but realized that {DIp law'} doesn't mean "a
plural noun", but "many nouns".
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons