A note to the writers of the world...
Apr. 10th, 2019 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulyIf you're going to include fantasy foreign words in your work, please try to remember that there are other ways to mark a plural besides simple suffixes.
For example - and this is just off the top of my head! - you can leave plurals unmarked, you can add a prefix or an infix, you can change an affix, you can use full or partial reduplication, you can use mandatory measure words, you can have the unmarked word undergo a systematic phonetic change (think "goose, geese" or "foot, feet"). And of course, as in English, sometimes multiple systems can jostle together.
For an advanced move, consider or having dual, trial and/or paucal marking in addition to simple singular/plural, or marking the singular instead of the plural either for all words or only words of a certain semantic group (ie, those things you don't expect to see just one of, like birds or children or candies or worries).
If you intend to write entire sentences, ask yourself if it might make sense to mark words other than or in addition to the noun, and if plural marking must be obligatory.
*****
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For example - and this is just off the top of my head! - you can leave plurals unmarked, you can add a prefix or an infix, you can change an affix, you can use full or partial reduplication, you can use mandatory measure words, you can have the unmarked word undergo a systematic phonetic change (think "goose, geese" or "foot, feet"). And of course, as in English, sometimes multiple systems can jostle together.
For an advanced move, consider or having dual, trial and/or paucal marking in addition to simple singular/plural, or marking the singular instead of the plural either for all words or only words of a certain semantic group (ie, those things you don't expect to see just one of, like birds or children or candies or worries).
If you intend to write entire sentences, ask yourself if it might make sense to mark words other than or in addition to the noun, and if plural marking must be obligatory.
How the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Held On in Palm Springs
66 Candid Images That Capture What Life Was Like In The ’60s
Teach Kids the Value of Cash … With a Parent-Controlled Spending Card
Why there's so little left of the early internet
How Jupiter and Pluto Teamed Up to Make People Feel Silly
Pondering the power of the public service announcement, including one PSA in particular that has maintained an unusual cult following.
Women as War Machines of World War I
Filing Your Taxes Is an Expensive Time Sink. That’s Not an Accident.
The 3 Gun-Control Laws That Work Best in the U.S.
To Readers, $X Billion Just Means ‘a Whole Lot of Money’
Why We're Still Fighting Over the Equal Rights Amendment in 2019
“People outside this community know about us because of one moment in time.”
The Inherent Sexism of Inanimate Objects
I do not consider my disability a ‘special request.’
A glimpse inside the lives of asylum-seekers, new couples, prisoners, and pen pals through their letters, texts, WhatsApp messages, and Facebook posts
Misinformation Is Endangering India’s Election
The Nigerian asylee running New York City’s only homeless shelter for refugees.
Bedouin Women Capture Their Village's Final Moments Before It's Demolished by Israel
You’re not just nostalgic: There are less butterflies than when you were a kid.
The IRS Tried to Take on the Ultrawealthy. It Didn’t Go Well.
Even very short jail sentences drive people away from voting
Why Did Brett Kavanaugh Change His Mind About the Rights of Religious Minorities in the Execution Chamber?
How border patrol chases have spun out of control
China’s construction binge spreads to Americas, rattles US
Duterte threatens 'suicide mission' if Beijing oversteps in South China Sea
‘I felt like a slave:’ Inside China’s complex system of incarceration and control of minorities
One-third of all slavery is visible from space
16 Years Later, How the Press That Sold the Iraq War Got Away With It
no subject
Date: 2019-04-06 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-04-07 01:52 am (UTC)Everyone else hires professionals to do it. Or they do as you suggest, just use a few words and phrases here and there.