Re: Iltârer Nouns

><< The collective is distinguished from the plural by inclusively
>containing all real and possible elements of the class; it often has a
>certain Platonic or archetypal connotation, much as seen in the English
>word humanity, which is not only signifies all human beings, but also the
>collection of qualities that constitute human identity. >>
>
>     So, is this collective just kind of a plural that makes a reference to
>the associated frames with a given word?  So the collective plural for "bird"
>would include birds, wings, flying, egg-laying, nest-making, singing,
>screeching, and so forth?
Hi David. I'm not sure I'm interpreting your question correctly, but here's
a more careful explanation of what I have in mind--

The collective plural, first and foremost, always has the sense of
referring to an entire class of objects. So one would use it in sentences
like "research show that dinosaurs are close relatives of birds" or "birds
lay eggs". Assuming that the collective plural of "bird" also has the
archetypal connotation I described (hadn't really considered it
specifically), I would imagine it being somewhat more narrow than the list
of qualities you mention, according to whatever aspect of "birdness"
captured the imagination of the Iltârer people; perhaps a meaning relating
to flight and the freedom of living by instinct. That more abstract meaning
would tend to apply when the noun was used metaphorically, in the
referential case. "a person of birds" might be an Iltârer expression
roughly equivalent to "a free spirit" in English idiom.

Thanks for reading,

Cheers, Tom


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Tom Tadfor Little            tom@telp.com
Santa Fe, New Mexico (USA)
Telperion Productions        www.telp.com
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