Re: -oy

["William H. Martin" <whm2m@server1.mail.virginia.edu>]

Pardon the intrusion into what should likely be Beginners' 
Grammarian stuff, but this needs to get straightened out.

On Sun, 3 Jan 1999 09:13:19 -0800 (PST) K'ryntes 
<yoshi@surfshop.net> wrote:

> qIt mu'tlheghwIj 'e' vIHarbe'.
> 
> Thanks, I didn't think I could get away with that but I wasn't sure where I
> could use -oy.  It's not appropriate to call someone a name with -oy at the end
> unless you want to insult them is it?

The problem here is has nothing to do with insults. {vavoy} 
means something like "Daddikins" or "Dear Father" or whatever. 
So what would {veDoy} mean? "Dear fur""? "Furrikins". Do you 
really mean to place an affectionate suffix on FUR?

It is more appropriate to use this suffix on PEOPLE or CREATURES 
or perhaps even cherished weapons or ships or other personal 
items, but realize that the item is being identified here as a 
specific entity. Fur just doesn't seem like an appropriate item, 
especially in this context.

Which brings me to the bigger problem apparently not addressed 
yet. Even without {-oy}, this sentence doesn't work. {veDoy chaH 
yIHmey'e'} literally means "Tribbles are fur." Not "furry". Just 
"fur". See?

There is no Klingon verb that we know yet meaning "be furry". 
You can't just build one by using a pronoun and {veD}.

Instead, you probably have to get more literal and change to 
something like {veD lughaj Hoch yIHmey,} "All tribbles have 
fur,"or {Hoch yIH Dechchu' veD,} "Fur completely surrounds each 
tribble," or perhaps {yIH Soplu'pa' veD teqnISlu' Hugh qotlhmo' 
veD.}

That means, "Before one eats a tribble, one must remove the fur 
because fur tickles the throat." I personally like mine dunked 
in scalding coffee. Slowly.

charghwI' 'utlh
 
> K'ryntesoy
> 
> Neal Schermerhorn wrote:
> 
> > ghItlh K'ryntes:
> >
> > >veDoy chaH yIHmey'e'.
> > >Tribbles are furry.
> >
> > Hmmm... pupbe'. yIqaw: "N chaH N-'e'" DajatlhtaHvIS DaDelbe'. yIHmey Del
> > DIvI' Hol mu'tlheghlIj. Delbe' mu' "chaH". "be furry" Dajatlh DaneHchugh,
> > yIH DellaHbogh mu''e' Dalo'nIS. Do'Ha' tu'be'lu'. "Tribbles are furry"
> > vImughnISchugh <veD ghaj yIHmey> vIghItlh.
> >
> > SKI: In the English above, "furry" is an adjective, not an "endearmentized"
> > noun.
> >
> > Qermaq