Re: wandering [OT] [was: B5 Ship Figures]

My view on this:

When you contract a word together, your use apostrophes for the parts
you don't say (in "can't" the apostrophe replaces the "no" in "can
not").	With alien words/names, it would seem that humans would "spell"
the parts that we CAN'T pronounce with an apostrophe.  

So in "Kra'Vak" the apostrophe perhaps replaces the quad-tonal warbling
screech that indicates, dependent upon the two mid-range tones used,
whether you're talking about Kra'Vak that are part of your family/clan
or outside your family/clan.  

It might have been (might still be!) an insult to the Kra'Vak that
humans ignore that part of the word Kra'Vak and instead refer to them
all in one word... as if the members of the Hat'feeldz clan could ever
be considered worthy of being in the same group as the Mik'Koyz!

Perhaps that's the etymology of alien words containing apostrophes, the
apostrophes represent the "contraction" of alien words/sounds that can't
be pronounced by humans or even spelled by human letters or characters.

--Flak

On Mon, 2002-05-06 at 13:26, Charles Taylor wrote:
> In message <F132HmDrS2WvMn6evli0000d939@hotmail.com>
>	    "Brian Bilderback" <bbilderback@hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > >From: "McClure, Kent" <kent.mcclure@lmco.com>
> > 
> > >Well, maybe at least immune to Vo'vampires?
> > 
> > That's the other thing I don't get.  What is it about apostrophes
that makes 
> > people want to put them in the names of alien races all the time?
> > 
> > 3B^2
> > 
> Dunno, maybe its a test setting for John Crimmins Orbital Mind Control
> Lasers?
> 
> Charles 
> 
> -- 
> 
-- 

--Flak Magnet
Hive Fleet Jaegernaught