[tlhIngan Hol] lojmItmey yISam

[mayqel qunenoS]

SuStel:
> Forgetting that inherently plural nouns are grammatically
> singular

Is this a rule, that inherently plural nouns in english (for example
"coordinates") are always grammatically singular in klingon ?

qunnoq

On 16 Aug 2017 4:15 pm, "SuStel" <sustel at trimboli.name> wrote:

> On 8/16/2017 6:25 AM, De'vID wrote:
>
> On 16 August 2017 at 08:46, Philip Newton <philip.newton at gmail.com> <philip.newton at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Someone recently used {yIvoq 'ach lojmItmey yISam}.
>
> At first, I corrected the writer with {tISam} but was then told it was
> a quote from TKW:
>
>    yIvoq 'ach lojmItmey yISam
>    Trust, but locate the doors. TKW (sic for {tISam})
>
> Has this usage ever been explained?
>
> Was it a typographical error by the booksetter? A thinko by the
> author? Is it a survivor of older Klingon grammar? Or an innovation by
> some Klingons like {puqpu' tu'lu'}, similar to "Who did you see?" in
> English?
>
> No, but considering its content, context (next to {yIvoq 'ach yI'ol}),
> and the explanatory paragraph ("one must always be careful"), I'm
> inclined to think it's a deliberate joke.
>
> Note that, earlier, Okrand had translated "trust your instincts" as
> {Duj tIvoqtaH} in TKD, and on p. 26 of TKW the phrase {DujlIj yIvoq}
> is given, with the explanation that {Duj} "instincts" can be
> grammatically singular or plural. I think someone tried to "correct"
> him about that prefix, and TKW is the response. (He uses {tI-}
> correctly elsewhere in the book.)
>
> How very *Canticle for Leibowitz.* Let's not worship the holy shopping
> list. Using *yI-* where you should use *tI-* is one of the most common of
> errors. I do it sometimes, even when I got it right elsewhere in the same
> text. Forgetting that inherently plural nouns are grammatically singular is
> another common mistake. Okrand will occasionally retrofit an explanation
> for his errors, but he doesn't go out of his way to commit them. (It's not
> like the copy editor of the book would have been able to catch his
> mistakes.)
>
> --
> SuStelhttp://trimboli.name
>
>
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