tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Aug 20 19:56:50 1997
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Re: Hoch, HochHom, bID, 'op
- From: "William H. Martin" <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Hoch, HochHom, bID, 'op
- Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 22:58:27 -0400 ()
- Priority: NORMAL
On Wed, 20 Aug 1997 10:52:08 -0700 (PDT) Lord Yandros - High
Lord of Chaos <[email protected]> wrote:
> tera'ngan jIH. pongwIj 'oH yanDroS joH'e'. vIyIn 'oH *Scotland*'e'
>
> *English* *specify*taH wotchugh wa' law' ghap, 'ej mu'tlheg choHtaH.
>
> 'Sheep are grazing' 'ach 'A sheep is grazing.'
You've missed the point. Grass, when taken as a collective, *IS*
green. Grass are not green. Grass is green.
Sheep can be a noun used either as a collective or as a singular
entity. When it is used as a collective, sheep are in the field.
Sheep is not in the field. A sheep is in the field, but then, a
sheep is not a collective. Got it? We are not worried about
singular nouns. We know that singular nouns are grammatically
treated as singular, but collective nouns are ALSO treated as
singular in Klingon, while in English, SOME collective nouns are
treated as singular, while others are treated as plural. Grass
is treated as singular. Sheep are treated as plural.
> ~yanDroS
charghwI'
> NB *Scotland*Daq wIghajbe' *KGT*. naDevDaq *September 1997*.
>
> At 21:20 18/08/97 -0700, William H. Martin wrote:
> >> > Which is correct?
> >> > cha' wISop
> >> > cha' DISop
> >
> >We are not sure. Most likely, these are not the same. {cha} is
> >inherantly plural, sort of like the word "rain" or "grass" is
> >for English. Rain is falling (not rain are falling) and grass is
> >green (not grass are green). Meanwhile, if we use numbers as
> >nouns, we say, "Two are coming down the road." We don't say,
> >"Two is coming down the road."
> >
> >It is not necessarily true that Klingon will follow these
> >examples, since English is inconsistent. Sheep are grazing. It
> >is not the case that sheep is grazing. Cattle are restless, not
> >cattle is restless.
>
>
> "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new
> discoveries, is not 'Eureka (I found it)' but 'That's funny...' "
> -- Isaac Asimov
Huj...