tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu May 15 22:24:47 2003
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Re: DIpmey tIn chenmoH...
From: "QeS lagh" <[email protected]>
> Can I create new compound nouns from existing monosyllabic roots?
[...]
> For instance, is combining the words <<ghIch>> "nose" and <<Hom>> "bone"
to
> form the compound <<ghIchHom>> "nasal bone" legal?
[...]
> Or, using a number instead of a noun, <<cha'>> "two" and <<tel>> "wing"
> combining with <<Hom>> to form <<cha'telHom>> "sphenoid bone" (having the
> <<tel'a'>> and the <<telHom>>, or "greater and lesser wings"? :)
[...]
> As well, what comes to your minds when I use the term <<DIp'a'>>? I was
> wondering about the possibility of this being usable as a translation of
> "compound noun". (Also, possibly, <<DIp chenmoHlu'bogh>>?)
We can't create new compound nouns. TKD explains how to understand them
(TKD 3.2.1), but it doesn't say that they are constructs that speakers
typically create themselves. The situation seems to be that a compound noun
is one that you might find in a Klingon lexicon. You can, however, combine
nouns in the noun-noun construction (TKD 3.4).
Evidence for this is best seen on TKD p. 30: "Some combinations of two (or
more) nouns in a row are so common as to have become everyday words. These
are the compound nouns (as discussed in section 3.2.1). In addition, it is
possible to combine nouns in the manner of a compound noun to produce a new
construct even if it is not a legitimate compound noun ('legitimate' in the
sense that it would be found in a dictionary)."
Many areas of discussion require jargon. We do not know any Klingon
vocabulary, whether everyday or jargon, for the things you're trying to
express. You can throw a couple of nouns together, but very often these
become "hindsight words": the meaning of the phrase is only clear if you
already know what it's supposed to mean.
You could use /ghIch Hom/ "nose bone," and (provided the listener knew you
didn't mean /ghIchHom/) it would probably be clear. However, many would
have no idea what you meant by /DIp'a'/ (like me). Avoid using hindsight
words. If you don't have a direct word to express your meaning, explain it.
Don't push words together and assume someone else will know what you were
thinking.
You can't use numbers in a noun-noun construction (they're not nouns). If
you see them as part of a complex noun (like /cha'puj/ "dilithium"), you can
recognize the elements, but you can't mimic it with other words. Those
instances are phrases that have become regularized among Klingons.
SuStel
Stardate 3370.6