<< First Page
Nouns don't just exist singly in sentences. Sometimes one doesn't just describe having one enemy to fight, but many enemies. Often, a Klingon sentence has to describe more than one of something - more than one Klingon, more than one prisoner, more than one phaser bolt converging upon your position.
A singular noun in Klingon does not need a noun suffix, the same as in English; nuH weapon refers to a single weapon of any type. Generally, to state that something is plural you will need a plural noun suffix.
This article focuses on how tlhIngan Hol expresses concepts such as
and
and
The plural noun suffix -mey
The noun suffix -mey turns a single item, such as Doch thing, into Dochmey things. -mey is a general purpose suffix, used to describe things that are not capable of using language: weapons, doors, weapons, ships, stars, galaxies, pains.-mey cannot be used on body parts, such as foreheads, eyes, ears, arms, hands, bodies and so on - only on non-body part objects. -mey generally cannot be used on people capable of using language, either, but it can be used to define plurals of animals, which cannot use language.
Items which qualify for this suffix include:-
| Doch | (n) | thing | Dochmey | (n) | things |
| ghu' | (n) | situation | ghu'mey | (n) | situations |
| HaSta | (n) | visual display (on monitor) | HaStamey | (n) | visual displays (on monitor) |
| HIq | (n) | wine, ale, alcoholic beverage | HIqmey | (n) | wines, ales, alcoholic beverages |
| Hol | (n) | language | Holmey | (n) | languages |
| jIH | (n) | viewing screen | jIHmey | (n) | viewing screens |
| juH | (n) | home | juHmey | (n) | homes |
| latlh | (n) | additional one, other one | latlhmey | (n) | other ones |
| nob | (n) | gift | nobmey | (n) | gifts |
| poH | (n) | period of time | poHmey | (n) | periods of time |
| wIy | (n) | tactical display (on monitor) | wIymey | (n) | tactical displays (on monitor) |
| wo' | (n) | empire | wo'mey | (n) | empires |
| 'ay' | (n) | section, part, component, piece | 'ay'mey | (n) | sections, parts, components, pieces |
DIpmey chu' New Nouns
The following are new nouns, all things which take the -mey suffix in the plural.
| bach | (n) | shot | bachmey | (n) | shots |
| beH | (n) | rifle | beHmey | (n) | rifles |
| chav | (n) | achievement | chavmey | (n) | achievements |
| chot | (n) | murder | chotmey | (n) | murders |
| De'wI' | (n) | computer | De'wI'mey | (n) | computers |
| DuH | (n) | possibility, option | DuHmey | (n) | possibilities, options |
| Duj | (n) | ship, vessel | Dujmey | (n) | ships, vessels |
| DuSaQ | (n) | school | DuSaQmey | (n) | schools |
| HIvje' | (n) | glass, tumbler, cup | HIvje'mey | (n) | glasses, tumblers, cups |
| Hov | (n) | star | Hovmey | (n) | stars |
| leng | (n) | trek, journey, voyage | lengmey | (n) | treks, journeys, voyages |
| nuH | (n) | weapon | nuHmey | (n) | weapons |
| ngoD | (n) | fact | ngoDmey | (n) | facts |
| paq | (n) | book | paqmey | (n) | books |
| pegh | (n) | secret | peghmey | (n) | secrets |
| pong | (n) | name | pongmey | (n) | names |
| potlh | (n) | consequential thing, something important | potlhmey | (n) | consequential things, important things |
| qech | (n) | idea | qechmey | (n) | ideas |
| qep | (n) | meeting | qepmey | (n) | meetings |
Using Plural Nouns
Use nouns with plural suffixes in the same way as you use nouns without the plural suffixes. Always, however, remember to use the appropriate plural verb prefixes in each sentence - they, them rather than it.
roghvaH SIgh qechmey Ideas influence the population
bachmey vIQoy I hear shots
qepmey DImuS We hate meetings
ngoDmey boghaj You have the facts
nuHmey tIwIv Choose your weapons!
nuHmey tIchagh Drop your weapons!
Next time, we will be looking at nouns which, despite being plural, do not take a plural suffix.
<< First Page
you say "-mey cannot be used on body parts, such as foreheads, eyes, ears, arms, hands, bodies and so on "
ReplyDeletethat's not quite true: -mey is used for the plural of "body" porgh, porghmey (-Du' is used for body parts, not for the body itself)
Only in the context of "scattered all about," as one would expect to see after a major battle.
ReplyDelete