tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri May 28 09:37:40 2004

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Re: "dozens" (wa'maHmey?)

Steven Boozer ([email protected]) [KLI Member] 

De'vID:
>I wanted to write a message to the effect that "you guys are
>going so fast you're written dozens of messages before I can
>reply!"  Then that got me to thinking, "Can we pluralize numbers
>in Klingon?"
>
><wa'maH QIn boqonta'> "You (pl) have composed ten messages"
><*wa'maHmey QIn boqonta'> *"You (pl) have composed tens of messages"
>
>Does the second sentence work?  Do any rules suggest you can or
>cannot put plural suffixes on numbers?

Quvar has already explained why this doesn't work in Klingon.

>How can the above be expressed, other than a general/vague <QIn law'>...
>I want to say "many messages" but also want to indicate the order of
>magnitude of tens rather than, say, hundreds.

Some suggestions:

{QIn puS} "a few messages, several messages":

   DaH QIn puS boqonta' 'ach Hoch vIlaDlaHbe'!
   you've written several messages now but I can't read them all

{QIn 'Iq} "too many messages"

   vIlaDchu'meH QIn 'Iq boqonta'
   you've written too many messages for me to read perfectly
   (i.e. I'm a beginner and read Klingon too hesitantly)

   vIlaDta'meH QIn 'Iq boqonta'
   you've written too many messages for me to read through (completely)
   (i.e. I can't finish them all!)

Give a range:

   chaq wa'maH QIn cha'maH QIn ghap boqonta'
   you've written maybe 10 or 20 messages

Use {-law'} "it seems (to be), apparently, etc." on the verb:

   wa'maH QIn boqonlaw'ta'
   you seem to have written 10 messages, you've written some 10 messages
   (note suffix order)



-- 
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons

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