Re: a question about names

On Thu, Sep 30, 2004 at 06:19:00PM -0400, Doug Dee wrote:
> >Klingon has no gender distinctions either.
>
> Klingon has different pronouns for (a) beings capable of using language and
> (b) everything else.  That's "gender" in the usual linguistc sense*, isn't it?
True.  I sit corrected.  Klingon has no grammatical distinctions based
on sex; it does have gender, as you indicate above.

Incidentally, much hashing out on the Klingon mailing list, including
discussions with Dr. Okrand, seems to indicate that the intended
distinction is one of sentience vs.  non-sentience.  The rule as stated
in the dictionary which you quote above ("beings capable of using
language") is somewhat misleading.  e.g. Are infants "beings capable of
using language"?  What about adults who are completely paralyzed and
unable to speak?    Do talking computers get the nod?  etc.

-Marcos