[tlhIngan Hol] {xDuj} vs {x Duj}

[SuStel]

On 2/24/2020 8:48 AM, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
> We say:
>
> puH Duj
> muD Duj
> bIQ Duj
>
> However, we say:
>
> veSDuj
> may'Duj
> toQDuj
> tlharghDuj
> lupDujHom
>
> And there is the {paq Duj} too, which since we don't have any of those 
> in greece, I don't know what it is, nor do I care to find out either..
>
> Now, from the examples above ({paq Duj}, whatever the ghe''or it is, 
> aside), it shows that seemingly/apparently in Ca'Non, when a ship is 
> described on the basis of *where* it travels, the two words are 
> written separately, but when a ship is specified on the basis of its' 
> mission, then the two words are smooshed together..
>
> So, the question arises:
>
> If we want to say "love ship" (as ridiculous as it may sound), do we 
> need to write {parmaqqay Duj} or {parmaqqayDuj} ? Or if we need to say 
> "food ship", do we write {Soj Duj} or {SojDuj} ?
>
> Or is it, that only god (i.e. maltz), has the right to be smooshing 
> words together ?

Words get smooshed together when the population using the words comes to 
see them as a single word. In English, compound words often go through 
the following stages: they start as two words used together to mean 
something, then they become hyphenated, then the hyphen is removed and 
they're one word. An example: /child care/ started as two words, later 
it was hyphenated to /child-care,/ until finally today it is commonly 
found as one word, /childcare./ We started with /electronic mail,/ which 
soon became /e-mail,/ and now the hyphen is rapidly disappearing in 
dictionaries, to become /email./

The single words that end with *Duj* probably have their origin in this. 
Modern Klingons appear to be more interested in spaceships than other 
types of vehicles, such that *Duj* is generally thought of as a 
spaceship by default, without comment. So they make terms that combine 
with this default meaning, and the terms are common enough to be turned 
into single words. But when you talk about non-spaceship vehicles, these 
aren't going to be so common as to become single words.

We can't create single-word compounds ourselves, because we don't have 
access to Klingon culture to determine which words THEY have decided are 
common enough to be single words. But /love ship/ is obviously *parmaq 
Duj,* and /food ship/ is obviously *Soj Duj,* because neither is likely 
going to be a thing for Klingons. But without guessing, we have to 
assume these to be the case because we can't assume we'd know which 
words Klingons would jam together, any more than we can predict which 
words are going to be jammed together in English in the future.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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