tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Jan 21 12:01:20 1999

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RE: KLBC: *London*Daq lengwIj



Matt asks:
: Possibly Complicated Question: If a noun already 'seems' to have a
: diminutive suffix tacked onto it (like {lupDujHom} for shuttlecraft),
: are we okay to put another {-Hom} on it, like I have above? I also get
: into semantic questions between:
: 
: tlhIngan Hol:           {lupDujHom'a'} 
: {lupDujHom} as root:      large shuttlecraft
: {*lupDuj*} as root:         'significantly'-small *lupDuj*
:                       very-small *lupDuj*
: 
: tlhIngan Hol:           {lupDujHomHom}
: {lupDujHom} as root:       small shuttlecraft
: {*lupDuj*} as root:          'insignificantly'-small *lupDuj* 
:                      tiny-small *lupDuj*
:
: I know *lupDuj* doesn't exist as a root-word yet... but humor me. <G> 
: 
: It's logic where proportion is concerned -- trying to tack {-Hom} /
: {'a'} suffices onto {HochHom} strikes me as being very mind-bending.

pagh replies: 
: So to answer your question, no, you can't put another type 1 suffix on
: <lupDujHom> or <van'a'> or anything similar.

ja' Voragh:
: Why avoid {mach} "be small" and {tIn} "be big, be large" in favor of 
: {-Hom} and {-'a'}?  This is not a criticism, just curious -- beginners 
: always want to use the Type 1 suffixes for *every* size reference, 
: which is not what they're for at all.  I see nothing wrong with 

: lupDujHom tIn lupDujHom mach
: lupDujHom tInqu' lupDujHom machqu'
: etc.

: to refer to various sizes of shipboard shuttlecraft carrying 2-6 people.
: I also see nothing wrong with using *{lupDuj} for larger shuttles or 
: passenger liners, like those wedge-shaped vessels carrying (I assume) 
: some 50-200 passengers we see regularly travelling between Bajor and DS9.

Good suggestion. <-Hom> and <-'a'> are very much general purpose tools.
<tIn> and <mach> apply only to physical size.


pagh
Beginners' Grammarian



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