tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Dec 29 10:26:54 2000

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RE: Grammar Highlight Each Day (-'a' and -Hom)

While your intent here is good, I think your examples could have been better
chosen. You say that {-'a'} and {-Hom} do not necessarily refer to size, yet
in every example you offer, the only difference between X, X'a' and XHom is
size, until you get to {SuS}, and some people might still consider that to
be a matter of size.

Better examples are:

Duy - agent, emmissary
Duy'a' - ambassador

veng - city
vengHom - village

While you might consider a village to be a small city, realize that there is
a fundamental difference in quality other than size between a city and a
village. Most of the time, you can tell whether you are in a city or village
even inside a room in someone's home because of the difference in
sophistication of the facilities.

A ten story apartment building, alone at the side of a highway would not be
called a village, even if its population were identical to that of a
village. A huge, sprawling collection of adobe huts without commerce or
plumbing would not be called a city, even if it had millions of people
living in it.

A city is more significant than a village, as an ambassador is more
significant than a government agent or emmissary. Size is often related to
significance, as in the difference between a boulder, a rock and a pebble,
but the suffix relates to the significance, not the size. A precious, small
diamond might be considered {nagh'a' mach} while a large lump of common
sandstone might be considered {naghHom tIn}.

SarrIS

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 12:29 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Grammar Highlight Each Day (-'a' and -Hom)
>
>
> Disclaimer:  This is only a highlight referring to
> augmentative/dimunitive
> suffixes.  It is not an exhaustive teaching tool.
>
> The basic noun {nagh} means "stone, rock."  {nagh'a'} may be
> translated as
> "boulder."  While this is a large stone, {nagh tIn} is the proper way to
> perceive "large stone," a noun modified by an adjective.
> {nagh'a'} on the
> other hand means a major, eminent, prominent stone.  In contrast,
> {naghHom}
> may be translated as "pebble."  And, the proper way to say small stone is
> {nagh mach}.
>
> Another example is:  loD = man; loD'a' might translate as
> "giant"; loDHom =
> boy.
>
> Another example is:  bIQ = water; bIQ'a' = ocean; bIQHom might be
> "pond."
> BTW, Klingon has a word for "lake," {ngeng}.
>
> Another example is:  SuS = wind; SuS'a' = gale; SuSHom = wisp.
>
> Do not confuse these two type 1 noun suffixes with the adjectives
> {tIn} and
> {mach}.
>
> peHruS QInnor puqloD, valtev tuq
>

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