[Tlhingan-hol] Noun cases

[Steven Boozer]

lojmIt tI'wI'nuv:
>> You fell into one of those little traps that Okrand left for us.
>> *puqmey* does not mean "children scattered all about". The only
>> example Okrand gave us was {tlhonmey} for "nostrils scattered all
>> about". So, body parts with the "can't use language" plural form
>> imply "scattered all about". That's the only violation of noun
>> gender that has a poetic meaning in Klingon. Any other violation
>> is simply ungrammatical without meaning.


Philip
> I guess I misread this bit of TKD:
> 
> "It can also be used with nouns referring to beings capable of using
> language (those nouns which take {-pu'}). When it is so used, it adds
> a notion of "scattered all about" to the meaning. Compare: {puq}
> <child>; {puqpu'} <children>; {puqmey} <children all over the place>".


Philip beat me to the post.  The page reference is TKD p.23f., which also states:

"Finally, some nouns in Klingons are inherently or always plural in meaning, and therefore never take plural suffixes: {ray'} targets, {cha} torpedoes, {chuyDaH} thrusters. The singular counterparts of such words are utterly distinct: {DoS} target, {peng} torpedo, {vIj} thruster. The singular forms may take the {-mey} suffix, but that would carry the "scattered all about" connotation: {DoSmey} targets scattered all about, {pengmey} torpedoes all over the place." 


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons