Slithy, Slithier, Slithzerikai - a grammar question

[Aran]

I'm quite sure that this has been discussed earlier, but I can't find the archived topic.

 

So far I've believed "Slithzerikai" to be the plural of "Slith". However, groups larger than one Slith are sometimes referred to as "Sliths" (a debased form by humans, I assume, much like "Troglos"), and a single Slith as "one Slithzerikai".

 

So is Slithzerikai its own plural (much like Vahnatai), and the "Slith/Sliths" form is just an abbreviation by humans?

 

--

 

Edit: And while we're fact-checking the Wikipedia entry anyway, can someone please confirm that a "Slithzerikai Goddess" was actually present in the game, and that this goddess "requested" the adventurers to slay Thsss-Sss?

[Kelandon]

I was under the impression that "slithzerikai" was both singular and plural, like "fish," although I can't point to a particular part of the games in which that is proven.

 

I was also under the impression that "slith" was a nickname, and its plural was "sliths."

 

When you pray at the altar in the southeast corner of Gnass in A1, a disembodied voice (described as "small" and "soft") tells you to kill Sss-Thsss. There is no proof that it is a divine entity, and there is no proof that it is female, although both are reasonable guesses.

[Alorael at Large]

-ai is a suffix that obviously denotes race and that equally obviously has no bearing on singular or plural. With a sample size of two, how far wrong could this analysis be?

 

Slith is a nickname for slithzerikai the way troglo is short for troglodyte. Because slith seems like a more standard English word, it gets an S for its plural form. After years of fighting vahnatai Avernum will probably complain about those bug-eyed vahns.

 

—Alorael, who very much doubts that the voice at the alter is the slith goddess. It might be a slith goddess, but there's a notable absence of divine intervention in Avernum. The few gods that do show up are only mentioned by their worshippers. As for the gender, any guess has a 33% chance of being right, so it's probably wrong.

[Kelandon]

I guess it's worth mentioning that, in my Bahs/Exodus continuity, the goddess at that altar is Legare's Goddess, such as she is, and the word "slithzerikoss" (of which "slithzerikai" is a form) is the less complimentary word for a slith — slithzerikoss = homo/anthropos, ksevoss = vir/aner. This is not proven in the games anywhere.

[Dikiyoba]

Originally by Alorael:

 

Quote:

After years of fighting vahnatai Avernum will probably complain about those bug-eyed vahns.

That will just be the polite term for them. I can see vahnatai being refered to as "buggers" occasionally in future games. Probably by the same people who call nephil "kitties" and slithzerakai "lizards."

 

Dikiyoba.

[Firecage]

But what about the vanatai?Are they in A1 , becuase Athron talks about them in A1,

[Erika Maroonmark]

Well, they're in Exile 1, so most likely so. However, they don't play that big a role: the official Spiderweb Exile FAQ says, "Q: How do I get past the double barrier in the Vahnatai cave? A: Play Exile 2." or something like that.