Plurals 4: People and Sentients

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When making a Klingon noun plural, you attach the suffix -mey to the noun if it is a general thing, an object incapable of using language; or -Du' if it is part of a body, whether animal or human.

What about people - men, women, husbands, Klingon, Ferengi, Captains, warriors, entities, energy beings and so on? Everyone, in other words, who is capable of using language?

For such sentients who are capable of using language, you use the noun suffix -pu'.

Examples

tlhIngan Klingon - tlhInganpu' Klingons

romuluSngan Romulan - romuluSnganpu' Romulans

loD man - loDpu' men

be' woman - be'pu' women

puq child - puqpu' children

SuvwI' warrior - SuvwI'pu' warriors

qama' prisoner - qama'pu' prisoners

Sample Sentences

romuluSnganpu' Suv tlhInganpu' The Klingons will fight the Romulans

tlhInganpu' SIgh be'pu' The women influence Klingons

jaghpu' DoH tlhIngan The enemies back away from the Klingon

Sentients and -mey

It is also possible to use the -mey plural noun suffix in the context of beings able to use language; however, as for using -mey as a plural with body parts, the specific meaning is all over the place, scattered all about:-

SuvwI'mey vIlegh I see warriors all over the place

puqpu' Da loDmey The men all scattered all about are behaving like children

Precedent: jIlajneS. ghIj qet jaghmeyjaj (Picard's acceptance speech, TNG)

Final Summary of Plural Suffixes

- For beings able to use language, use the noun suffix -pu'.

- For parts of a body, whether animal or sentient, use the noun suffix -Du'.

- For everything else and general usage, use the noun suffix -mey.

- The noun suffix -mey, used as a plural suffix for parts of the body or people rather than on things incapable of using language, always carries the specific connotation of all over the place or scattered all about.

- Finally, some awkward nouns have two different forms for the singular and plural such as ray' targets and DoS target. The -mey suffix can be used here, too, with the same connotation of scattered all about.

Other Noun Suffixes

So far, the lessons have only focused on one set of noun mojaqmey (also mojaQmey) suffixes at a time: in this case, the suffixes -pu', -Du' and -mey. These are all what are known as Type 2 noun suffixes.

tlhIngan Hol uses a total of five different categories or types of suffix, numbered Type 1 through to Type 5. Further posts will cover each of these different types of noun suffix.

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Plurals 3: Body Parts

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Whether talking about humanoid (Human, Klingon, Romulan, Ferengi) or animal, the Klingon nouns for body parts have their own suffix, -Du'.

Examples: ghop hand, ghopDu' hands; chap back of the hand, chapDu' backs of the hands; mIn eye, mInDu' eyes.

The following is a partial list of typical anatomical terms such as one would encounter in an encounter with Klingons. All these take the -Du' suffix. There are no awkward inherently plural nouns for body parts - one plural suffix fits all.

As with -mey use the appropriate plural verb prefixes.

ankle	ngIb
arm	DeS
armpit	'I'
back	Dub
back of hand	chap
backside	Sa'Hut
beard	rol
belly	chor
big toe	marwI'
body	porgh
brain	yab
cheek	qevpob
chin	woS
claw	pach
cleavage	ngech
corpse	lom
ear (cartilgainous external part)	qogh
ear (internal part)	teS
elbow	DeSqIv
eye	mIn
face	qab
finger	nItlh
fingernail	nItlhpach
fist	ro'
foot	qam
forehead	Quch, boD, Huy'Dung, jargh, mIQ, no''och, tuqvol, 'aqlo'
fourth toe	nanwI'
hair (body)	pob
hair (head)	jIb
hand	ghop
head	nach
heart	tIq
heel	va'nuch
index finger	SIqwI'
jowl	qevpob
kivon	qIvon
knee	qIv
leg	'uS
lip	wuS
little toe	Qay'wI'
liver	chej
lung	tagh
middle finger	qaywI'
moustache	loch
mouth	nuj
neck	mong
nose	ghIch, ley'
nostril	tlhon
open, flat hand	ghIt
palm of hand	toch
paw (animal)	namwech
pinky finger	qanwI'
pupil (eye)	lur
ring finger	qewwI'
roof of mouth, hard palate	lev
second toe	HomwI'
shoulder	volchaH
side	Dop
sole (foot)	bem
tail	tlhuQ
third toe	roSwI'
throat	Hugh
thumb (adult)	SenwI'
thumb (child)	rIlwI'
toe	yaD
tongue	jat
tooth	Ho'
top of foot	mov
trunk of body	ro
vein	'aD
wrist	yeb

Examples

qabDu' qIp She hits faces

tIqDu' lughaj They have hearts

lulargh ghIchDu' The noses smell (her)

Body Parts and -mey

It is possible to use the -mey plural suffix in the context of body parts. However, the only context one can apply for this is if the body parts are scattered all over the place.

ghopmey vIlegh I see hands scattered all over the place

ravDaq pumpu' jatmey The tongues fell out all over the floor
(ravDaq on the floor (n); (rav floor; (n) -Daq locative noun suffix (type 5 noun suffix)); pumpu' fall (v); (pum fall (v); -pu' aspect marker (type 7 verb suffix)))

There is just one more final plural noun suffix, and this describes people and beings capable of using language. That is the topic of the next lesson.

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Plurals 2: Awkward Nouns

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Some nouns are awkward, in that they can't be given the -mey suffix. Instead of the -mey suffix, a whole other noun exists instead describing the plural form of the singular noun.

jo	(n)	resources
cha	(n)	torpedoes
chuyDaH	(n)	thrusters
ray'	(n)	targets

These inherently plural nouns have utterly distinct singular counterparts:-

Sup	(n)	resource
peng	(n)	torpedo
vIj	(n)	thruster
DoS	(n)	target

When using jo, cha, chuyDaH or ray' in a sentence, these nouns are treated gramatically as singular nouns; you use singular pronouns to describe them.

ray' vIlegh I see the targets

jo vIlo' I use the resources

By way of showing the example more clearly, the sentence We see the targets is

ray' wIlegh We see the targets

rather than *ray' DIlegh*, which has the incorrect verb prefix.

Likewise, the proper usage is jo wIlo' We use the resources.

Can a tlhIngan Hol sentence contain plural forms of the inherently singular nouns vIj, DoS or peng taking the -mey suffix? Actually, yes: you can quite happily have vIjmey thrusters, DoSmey targets or pengmey torpedoes in a sentence. However, the suffix in this case carries a specific meaning of scattered, all over the place:-

DoSmey targets all over the place

Supmey scattered resources

pengmey vIlegh I see torpedoes all over the place

Other such apparently inherently plural nouns turn up in The Klingon Dictionary such as begh deflectors and qawHaq memory banks, without corresponding singular nouns. They will occasionally turn up here and there and, in some cases such as the noun Sut clothing, the jury's still out on whether or not they can be classified as inherently plural nouns in the same light as the above nouns. Until then, use the singular prefix for the likes of qawHaq in a sentence, and at all times, exercise judgment.

Abstract Nouns

Some nouns such as ruv justice (n), veS warfare (n), quv honour and chuQun nobility describe abstract terms. These can be considered to be inherently singular nouns with no plural counterparts when you are describing them as abstract concepts in a sentence.

ruv yaj tlhIngan The Klingon understands justice

(yaj understand (v))

veS tIv tlhIngan The Klingon enjoys warfare

Again, when you see a noun that looks as if it is describing an abstract concept, use your best judgment and think about whether such a noun would sound absurd with the -mey suffix tacked on to it. If it doesn't sound absurd (e.g. chaw'mey permits) then use -mey and be damned.

The next lesson looks at the next of the three classes of plural suffix - one specifically for body parts.

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Plurals 1: Things

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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

The Klingon chooses the weapons

and

I speak the languages

and

Pick up the things!

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.

peghmey ghaj be' The woman has secrets

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.

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