tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Jun 25 19:08:41 1997

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RE: KLBC: new words, once more for all...

[email protected] on behalf of [email protected] wrote:

> So, to get back into the proper subject: in which circumstances are you
> allowed
> to make a compound noun instead of a noun-noun construct?

These circumstances are less than well-defined.  My policy is to first decide 
if a noun-noun really works or not.  If it does, you can probably use that.  
But if the concept you're trying to convey is one that might easily be 
lexicalized, that is, if a Klingon grammarian looked at it and said, "Yep, 
that's a word all of its own, put it in," then go ahead and make it a 
compound.

The problem with making compound nouns at the drop of a hat is that they start 
to become less than clear.  Making noun-noun constructs forces you to think 
carefully about what you're trying to say.

> In French, we make
> little difference about the two (except by context). {Terra'ngan} is a
> Terran, while
> {Terra'   ngan} is an inhabitant of Terra'. Would a Klingon pronounce these
> with
> some difference (a slight pause between the words in the second case?)

Probably not, in normal conversation.  I'd say that this is one of the reasons 
that the difference between noun-nouns and compound nouns isn't very clear.

> Can we
> infer from the word {tlhIngan} that Klingons call (or used to call) they
> world
> {tlhI} or {tlhI'}?

No.  (If anything, I'd guess {tlhIn}, since contractions do sometimes occur, 
as in {vulqangan}.)  It's possible, but it could be complete nonsense.  (I 
understand that Okrand had prepared a list of possible names for the Klingon 
Homeworld, but that someone eventually chose "Kronos."  He obviously didn't 
want to use {QonoS}, because that was already one of his joke words: "log, 
journal."  So, he added a glottal stop, to get {Qo'noS}.)

> When a noun is used in a compound (TKD 3.2.1, very short about these), may
> the
> first one take suffixes?

I'm sure it can, but I cannot think of any examples.  However, I'd probably 
only use Type 1 suffixes.  I doubt that the other types would be allowed.

> May it be derived from a verb (with -wI' for
> example, which
> might cause ambiguity with the possessive -wI', although I couldn't find any
> such reasonable instance)?

Absolutely yet, to this one.  The example for this one is on TKD p.20: 
{tIjwI'ghom}.

-- 
SuStel
Beginners' Grammarian
Stardate 97484.1

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