On 2/21/2019 1:37 PM, Ed Bailey wrote:
It could be translated as "the many," just as *qanwI'* can be translated "the old."
Actually, I want to counter this. *qanwI'* can be translated /the old/ only in the sense that plural suffixes are optional in Klingon, and *qanwI'pu'* means /the old./ Assuming no dropped plural suffix, *qanwI'* only means /old one./ TKD is fairly clear on the meaning of *-wI',* and it's always explained as /thing which does/ or /one who does,/ and even once as /thing which is/ (we have since gotten canon for /one who is/). Nowhere is it explained as /things which do//, //those who do, things which are/ or /those who are./ I agree that it's a fine point, but I don't think it's rigid so much as careful not to stray beyond what we know *-wI'* does. Again, I'm not saying that the language is necessarily this specific, just that the evidence we actually have seems to point this way. Okrand could easily clarify with, "Oh, sure, *law'wI'pu'* means /the many,/" and there'd be no problem. You just can't get there with what we have now without making an assumption. -- SuStel http://trimboli.name