tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Mar 01 15:22:11 2004

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Re: geography

d'Armond Speers, Ph.D. ([email protected]) [KLI Member] [Hol po'wI']

>>Also
>> note, that the example word here, {tIjwI'ghom}, is not in the
>> wordlist.  This seems to me to be pretty strong evidence that this
>> is a productive process.
>
> {tIjwI'ghom} is a good counter-example.  I notice, however, that your
> own {pojwI'} program lists {tIjwI'ghom} in its wordlist.  :)

You caught me.  :)

I have two answers to this.  The existing lexicon in pojwI' dates back to,
oh, 1992, when I was a novice and much less careful about what went in.  As
a result, some mistakes and just sloppy entries have persisted, even to this
day (as anyone who checks out the WOTD long enough will easily notice).  As
a result of this, I have been working on a completely new version of the
lexicon, compiled with much greater care.

The second answer is that I try to capture all attested words, even those
that don't appear in word lists.  So, despite my comment above, {tIjwI'ghom}
is also listed in the new, cleaned-up lexicon.  It's as much a reference
tool as a word analysis tool.  (Earlier versions tried to parse compound
nouns, but the current version does not.  This is more of a "round-to-it"
issue than a philisophical position.)

> Is it a general word, or is it a context-specific description?

I think we all know what a "boarding party" is because we all are familiar
with Star Trek.  We have {HuchQeD} for economics (KGT p. 148).  I don't
think I'd have any trouble understanding {Huchtej} as "economist" in
general.  A more specific usage would probably require a context-specific
description.

> Maybe constructing compound nouns is a sometimes-productive process?
>
>>  It would need further explanation, to
>> distinguish it from, say, a cartographer or a surveyor.  And once
>> that context has expired, it would need new explanation in a novel
>> context.  I don't see this as a limitation of compounding, but
>> merely a fact about how languages work.  I could use the word
>> "linguist," but different contexts might apply this word to language
>> teachers, professional translators, phonologists, socio-linguists,
>> and so on, and only a specific context will make that clear.
>
> maQIjtaHvIS reH SoH po' law' jIH po' puS.

batlh bIjang.

> SuStel
> Stardate 4166.7

--Holtej

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