On 10/4/2020 12:19 PM, SCOTT wrote:
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"?
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 *yInSIp or* *voQSIp,* so we must assume that their English glosses are correct and relatively complete. The glosses of *yInSIp* and *vOQSIp* don't say anything about referring only to gasses beyond a /guessed/ etymology, so we have no reason to suppose they only refer to gasses. 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 *SIp,* and when they later learned of their other physical states, the names were so entrenched that they just continued to use them. 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 *SIp* with *lep.* We don't know. Anyway, nobody complains if someone says /frozen water /in English. We say /water vapor/ without blinking. For all we know, *yInSIp taD* is exactly as acceptable. -- SuStel http://trimboli.name