tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Nov 18 08:58:26 2000

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RE: plurals (was Re: Grammar Highlight Each Day)



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jiri Baum [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Saturday, November 18, 2000 2:58 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: plurals (was Re: Grammar Highlight Each Day)
>
>
> [email protected]:
> > >  The irregular plurals themselves ({ngop} "plates", {chuyDaH}
> > >  "thrusters") can be called inherently plural, but that's not what you
> > >  said.
>
> Will Martin:
> > Well, using Okrand's terminology, these are not irregular plurals. They
> > are inherantly plural nouns with other nouns referring to singular
> > examples of the item grouped with the inherantly plural noun.
>
> So you'd claim {ngop} would be something like "dinner setting" and
> {chuyDaH} would be, let's see, "cluster"?

While at a deep level, I'd say, "yes", the particulars of those words make
them very bad definitions. {ngop} basically means any collection of more
than one plate that is not particularly scattered all about. "Dinner
setting" has a much more restrictive definition. Similarly, "cluster" has a
definition that doesn't quite fit the {chuyDaH} definition, which is
basically any collection of more than one cluster that is not notably
scattered all about. That's why Okrand picked the definitions that he
picked. Meanwhile, {chuyDaH} and {vIj} are not two different irregular forms
of the same noun. They are two different nouns that happen to describe the
same technology, the difference being that {vIj} refers to a single unit,
{chuyDaH} refers to more than one unit, not notably scattered all about, and
{vIjmey} refers to more than one unit notably scattered all about.

An engineer takes a {vIj}, mounts it next to another {vIj} and begins to
build all the {chuyDaH} that are mounted to a ship. An enemy then comes
along, blasts the ship, creating {vIjmey}.

> Jiri, who isn't really here yet and will introduce himself... eventually
> --
> Jiri Baum <[email protected]>
> You know you've been hacking too long when ...
> ... reading a book you notice the word "From" at the beginning of a line.
>
SarrIS



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