[Tlhingan-hol] KLBC: plural in nationalities

[De'vID]

'arHa':
> Secondly, in phrases like <verengan Ha’DIbaH>, we are really talking about a
> <Ha’DIbaH>, not a <verengan>. The <verangan> simply tells us information
> about the animal; <Ha’DIbaH> is the main noun in the phrase. So, we would
> use the <-mey> plural suffix because the <Ha’DIbaH> is incapable of speech.
> Of course, one might use <-pu> for artistic reasons, say in a story about a
> talking Ha’DIbaH, but that is not the norm!

ruben:
> [poD] And, of course, {Ha'DIbaH} is listed as slang for "inferior person" in KGT
> p.216.

And therein lies a subtlety in this question. In the expression
{verengan Ha'DIbaH} (used as an insult), the word {Ha'DIbaH} is
applied to a person or people, i.e., beings capable of speech. When
you call a group of people "dogs" or "curs", do you use the plural for
people (beings capable of language) or animals?

Aside from the fact that it's more insulting, I think the correct
answer is {-mey}. The word {Ha'DIbaH} takes the plural {-mey}, like
how {DeSqIv} takes the plural {-Du'} even when referring to the handle
of a pot. The word "wrist" {yeb} is also used as an insult in Klingon,
and likewise takes the plural suffix {-Du'} even when referring to
people.

-- 
De'vID