SuStel:
Forgetting that inherently plural nouns are grammatically singular
Is this a rule, that inherently plural nouns in english (for example "coordinates") are always grammatically singular in klingon ? qunnoq On 16 Aug 2017 4:15 pm, "SuStel" <sustel@trimboli.name> wrote:
On 8/16/2017 6:25 AM, De'vID wrote:
On 16 August 2017 at 08:46, Philip Newton <philip.newton@gmail.com> <philip.newton@gmail.com> wrote:
Someone recently used {yIvoq 'ach lojmItmey yISam}.
At first, I corrected the writer with {tISam} but was then told it was a quote from TKW:
yIvoq 'ach lojmItmey yISam Trust, but locate the doors. TKW (sic for {tISam})
Has this usage ever been explained?
Was it a typographical error by the booksetter? A thinko by the author? Is it a survivor of older Klingon grammar? Or an innovation by some Klingons like {puqpu' tu'lu'}, similar to "Who did you see?" in English?
No, but considering its content, context (next to {yIvoq 'ach yI'ol}), and the explanatory paragraph ("one must always be careful"), I'm inclined to think it's a deliberate joke.
Note that, earlier, Okrand had translated "trust your instincts" as {Duj tIvoqtaH} in TKD, and on p. 26 of TKW the phrase {DujlIj yIvoq} is given, with the explanation that {Duj} "instincts" can be grammatically singular or plural. I think someone tried to "correct" him about that prefix, and TKW is the response. (He uses {tI-} correctly elsewhere in the book.)
How very *Canticle for Leibowitz.* Let's not worship the holy shopping list. Using *yI-* where you should use *tI-* is one of the most common of errors. I do it sometimes, even when I got it right elsewhere in the same text. Forgetting that inherently plural nouns are grammatically singular is another common mistake. Okrand will occasionally retrofit an explanation for his errors, but he doesn't go out of his way to commit them. (It's not like the copy editor of the book would have been able to catch his mistakes.)
-- SuStelhttp://trimboli.name
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