[Tlhingan-hol] Inherently plural nouns and numbers

[David Trimboli]

On 11/22/2011 12:28 PM, Brent Kesler wrote:
>
> On Mon, Nov 21, 2011 at 6:07 AM, ghunchu'wI' 'utlh<qunchuy at alcaco.net>  wrote:
>>
>>
>> I can think of only one thing that's even slightly relevant to the
>> question. "Always trust your instincts" is translated as {Duj
>> tIvoqtaH} in TKD's appendix, and "Trust your instincts" is translated
>> as {DujlIj yIvoq} in KGT. Apparently {Duj} can be construed as
>> inherently plural and thus grammatically singular, but it doesn't have
>> to be.
>
> TKD: I think this is more a case of leaving off the plural ending and
> letting the verb prefix indicate the noun's number.
>
> As for KGT, it may seem strange to say "Always trust your instinct" in
> English (what? I have just one?), but I see no reason why the concept
> of instinct has to be plural. How many times do we say things like "I
> know it by instinct"? Not instincts, not one particular instinct, just
> instinct.

That's true, but if {Duj} represents that which can be translated either 
"instinct" or "instincts," what is the meaning of {Dujmey} in {Duj[mey] 
tIvoqtaH}, and why would you choose it over singular {Duj}?

(Let's also not forget that the translation is sloppy in any case: there 
is no "your" in the Klingon.)

-- 
SuStel
http://www.trimboli.name/