Re: Gender in Old Klingon?

On Thu, 01 Jul 1999, you wrote:
> >From: Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
> >Altho Klingon has no gender, it does have three different plural
> >suffixes:
> >
> >-pu' (beings capable of using language)
> >-Du' (body parts)
> >-mey (general plural)
> >
> >I wonder if this is a survival of an earlier stage that had at least
> >three genders, corresponding to these plural suffixes?  Has Mark Okrand
> >ever said anything about "Old Klingon"?
> >
>
> I don't really know any klingon, but it looks like -Du' could be the
> survival of an old dual, and the others are a specialization of animate vs.
> inanimate. i'm sorry, that's blindingly obvious, never mind.
>
> jennifer
You make good points. I hadn't ever thought of -Du' being a dual, actually. I
always thought of it as a "body part" gender, which I believe some natlangs
actually have.

--
Eric Christopherson
raccoon@elknet.net      rakkoon78@hotmail.com