[tlhIngan Hol] rules to live by

[DloraH]

On Fri, 2021-07-09 at 11:01 -0400, SuStel wrote:
On 7/9/2021 10:52 AM, mayqel qunen'oS wrote:
> > SuStel:
> > > It's because woman does not imply a
> > > relationship to anyone, so saying my
> > > woman is implying actual ownership. In
> > > contemporary English, that is.
> >
> > This seems strange..
> >
> > In Greek we never say "my wife" unless in a very formal setting. 
> > 99,999% of the time we say "my woman" to refer to the one we're 
> > married too. And no one considers this derrogatory; not even the
> > most radical feminists.
> 
> My guess (and it's only a guess) is that *be'wI'*/my woman/ would be 
> acceptable to Klingons in the same way it seems acceptable to you in
> Greek.
> 
> 

In Maori, "woman" and "wife" are the same word.  
But... Maori does have different types of possession.

One type includes people you have responsibility/superiority over, and
things you have control of.
children, wife/husband, pets, man made objects - computer, knife, cup
(but not things like clothing, drinking water, things used for
transport)

Another type of possession includes parents, siblings, friends,
clothes, shelter, transport

(So, if say, you own a horse; if the horse is a pet, it is in the first
group; but if the horse is used for transport, it is in the second
group.)

If a woman is your wife, you would use a possession word covering the
first group.
If a woman is a friend or coworker, you would use a possession word
covering the second group.

(There are several possession words.  First person, second person,
third person; and each of those has singular, plural)


- DloraH