[tlhIngan Hol] nuH / DuH

SuStel sustel at trimboli.name
Wed May 27 07:28:08 PDT 2020


On 5/27/2020 9:59 AM, Lieven L. Litaer wrote:
> KGT lists {nuH} as "possibility", and I think this must be an error. The
> main body of KGT explains that {nuH} can be used metaphorically for
> "possiblity", but the regular word for "possibility" is {DuH}.
> (KGT p. 109+110)
>
> What is the common treatment of this? Is there any information I'm
> missing? Does {nuH }really mean possiblity, or is only used
> metaphorically, like slang words are? In that case, the list should have
> had a remark like other slang words. 

It's not slang, it's a metaphor. *nuH* means /possibility/ in the same 
way that *Soj* means /subject matter./ It's an actual meaning the word 
has picked up that can be used outside of slang contexts. The word 
literally means /weapon,/ but you can use it idiomatically to mean 
/possibility. /We're only told that it appears in the idiom *Hoch nuH 
qel*/consider every possibility,/ but the fact that it appears 
separately on the word list suggests that it can be used with this 
metaphorical sense wherever you like.

-- 
SuStel
http://trimboli.name

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