tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Oct 08 06:04:57 1993

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Re: mI'QeD ngerwIj gholpu'vaD jIjatlh

More on the vI' suffix:
> Krankor 
and
charghwI'

> Obviously I am opposed to any
> made-up stuff and won't go into that again here.  

     I'm in total agreement.

> As far as getting Okrand to sanction it, I think it better not to try to
> tell Okrand how to do his language.  It's one thing to try to put into
> channels a stated need, as in "We need a way to express fractions."  It's
> entirely different to try to tell him what the solution should be, as in
> "and it ought to be a suffix, such as -vI', that goes on number words". 

     I'm not sure it is fair to express the circumstances in this way. My own
idea was to pass on to Okrand that there is a need for a broader range of
fractions and there is a suggestion based upon an existing example in TKD. It
is one thing to offer the vI' suffix as an inverter (a clever idea he may
choose to endorse or reject) and quite a different thing to either withold
the idea from him altogether [one extreme] or demand that he accept it [other
extreme]. What *I* would like to see is a middle road. Offer it as a clever
solution to an existing need and leave it up to him to enjoy it or come up
with something else completely different. Censorship seems inappropriate in
this situation.

     But that's just an opinion. If I were Okrand, I would not want to hear
most suggested additions to the language, but I would want to hear THIS one,
only because it:
1. expidiciously solves a broad range math related needs.
2. is different from the majority of tera'gnan language solutions.
3. is an expansion of an existing TKD example.
4. does not conflict (form confusing homophones) with existing tlhIngan Hol.

     Furthermore, I did not come up with it, so I have no ego-related reason
to promote it, yet I promote it because it just feels right. Something else
might feel just as right, so I am not closed to other alternatives. I just
want to give this solution a chance to fill what is otherwise a void. Fill it
with something else as good and I'll be quite happy, and don't fill it with
anything until Okrand endorses or replaces it, but please give him the
opportunity to do one or the other as soon as possible. Klingons are waiting,
and that is not something they have a grand reputation for doing well.

--   charghwI'

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