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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/4/2020 12:19 PM, SCOTT wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:68353307.1.1601828338496@localhost">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">I have learned that {yInSIp} is "oxygen" and {voQSIp} is "nitrogen." Naturally, I looked up {SIp} and found that it means "gas."
It would seem, then, that these words refer to the elements in their gaseous states. Today, though, Duolingo gave me {voQSIp taD} as "frozen nitrogen."
I believe that frozen nitrogen is nitrogen in its solid state. That would make {-SIp} superfluous, and I would expect it to be {voQ taD}.
Do elements that have a gaseous state retain {-SIp} regardless of the element's state? Would it always be something like "frozen oxygen gas" and "frozen nitogen gas"?
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<p>When Okrand shoves words together to create new complex nouns,
it's a clear sign that the word has been lexicalized this way and
is considered a fixed word. We have no information about solid or
liquid forms of <b>yInSIp or</b> <b>voQSIp,</b> so we must
assume that their English glosses are correct and relatively
complete. The glosses of <b>yInSIp</b> and <b>vOQSIp</b> don't
say anything about referring only to gasses beyond a <i>guessed</i>
etymology, so we have no reason to suppose they only refer to
gasses.</p>
<p>We could, if we wanted, invent an etymology that supports any
position. I might, for instance, say that Klingons discovered
oxygen and nitrogen in their gas forms and named them with <b>SIp,</b>
and when they later learned of their other physical states, the
names were so entrenched that they just continued to use them.</p>
<p>But I just made that up. We don't really know. Maybe Klingons
have separate words for solid oxygen and nitrogen. Maybe they just
switch <b>SIp</b> with <b>lep.</b> We don't know.</p>
<p>Anyway, nobody complains if someone says <i>frozen water </i>in
English. We say <i>water vapor</i> without blinking. For all we
know, <b>yInSIp taD</b> is exactly as acceptable.<br>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
SuStel
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://trimboli.name">http://trimboli.name</a></pre>
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