[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: nuD

[David Trimboli]

On 12/12/2012 12:03 PM, Steven Boozer wrote:
>
>> Interesting that {petaQ} takes {-mey} here.
>
> When this was first posted to this list, someone (I don't know who) commented that the line was:
>
>    shouted by Molor at Kahless; not sure if the {-mey} was
>    intentional to add insult to, well, insult.

I believe that (a) you don't intentionally insult someone by using the 
wrong suffix and (b) whether you use a language-using suffix or not 
depends on the normal use of a noun, not the individual situation.

(a)
Using a non-language-using suffix inappropriately can be insulting 
without being a tool to insult someone. Using an inappropriate {-mey} 
just sounds like you don't know how to speak.

(b)
When asked about talking parrots and robots, Maltz balked, unsure of the 
correct answer. When using body-part words to describe parts of 
crockery, the body-part suffixes are used.

No doubt when a Klingon is confronted by one of thsoe edge cases like 
parrots and robots, his mind fights a war between the suffix the word is 
*supposed* to use and the suffix the situation demands. Language-using 
suffixes are not discretionary, but if you understand what they mean, 
you might think they are.

Whatever a {petaQ} is, it is probably something that doesn't use 
language, so the plural {petaQmey} is used. You don't change that plural 
when you are applying it to language-users.

If I wanted to call some citizens "swords," perhaps as a metaphor for 
their use in defense of a city, I would call them {yanmey}, not 
{yanpu'}. A sword does not use language, and my calling them swords does 
not make them swords or make swords use language.

yanmey chaH rewbe'pu''e'
the citizens are swords

It's questionable what pronoun to use there, but I think I picked the 
right one.

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