Naduta Gender and Case
▲
2▲ 2 ▼ 0
A summary of the genders and case endings in Naduta
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 28 Dec 2020, 15:14.
[comments] ndtgendercase
1. Applicative
?
?
2. Grammar temp
?
?
3. Modals in Naduta
?
?
11. Naduta Phonology
?
?
13. Naduta Pronouns
?
?
14. Naduta Verb Root Forms
?
?
15. Naduta Verbal Aspect
?
?
18. Transitivity
?
?
Gender and Noun CasesGenders
There are three genders: animate, and the two common genders, known and unknown.
animate (mhetudegurunta): The animate gender typically includes nouns that refer to animals and people, as well as various non-living things that demonstrate frequent or constant flux or motion, such as water, wind, trade, and transient emotions and feelings such as anger, pleasure, etc. The animate gender is comparatively predictable, with relatively few seemingly animate concepts being classified in other genders, and vice-versa.
known (yusgurunta): The known gender, together with the unknown gender, makes up one half of the common genders. Classification of nouns within the two common genders is mostly unpredictable, though in general, countable nouns, tools, body parts, and some natural objects are more likely to be classified in the known gender. In addition, gerunds of verbs always become known gender.
unknown (ruyusgurunta): The unknown gender constitutes the second half of the common genders. As its name suggests, the unknown gender classifies a few things that are unfamiliar, mysterious, or large, such as ba- night, ruyma- ocean, sar- mountain, but there are many other nouns that unpredictably occur in this gender.
For the majority of nouns, the plural form is marked with the plural sign d. However, some words may instead indicate plural through reduplication of all or part the glyph:
| singular | plural |
|---|---|
The plural marker normally appears before case endings; however, when case endings appear below a noun , the plural sign will come after it. In the following words, compare the placement of the case ending sign 斧 and the plural sign d:
Naduta nouns decline into two cases: nominative and objective. The nominative case is used for subjects and genitive constructions, while the objective case is used for direct objects and all other oblique arguments.
Animate case endings are entirely regular and thus easily learned. Below is a table outlining the relevant forms:
| Singular | Plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative (vowel stem) |
-ta | 斧 | -rta | d斧 |
| Nominative (consonant stem) |
-urta | |||
| Objective (vowel stem) |
-y | j | -rey* | dj |
| Objective (consonant stem) |
-ey | |||
*when the suffix -rey is added to a stem ending in /ɾ/, it merges with the /ɾ/ of the suffix, resulting in /tɾ/.
Words ending in Vu convert this /u/ to /w/ before the nominative plural and objective singular.
The following four examples should demonstrate all variations:
| Nominative singular | Nominative plural | Objective singular | Objective plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 木整 biwe- "carpenter" |
木整5 biweta | 木整5d biwerta | 木整k biwey | 木整kd bewerey |
| 思星 yhun- "thought" |
思星斧 yhunta | 思星d斧 yhunurta | 思星j yhuney | 思星dj yhunrey |
| 羊 pir- "goat" |
羊斧 pirta | 羊羊斧 pirurta | 羊j pirey | 羊羊j pitrey |
| 鷹 kau- "eagle" |
鷹斧 kauta | 鷹鷹斧 kawurta | 鷹j kawey | 鷹鷹j kaurey |
There are three main variations of the known case, identifiable by their nominative singular forms: -n, -ne, and -un. Their forms are as follows:
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative (vowel stem) |
-n | e | -rna | de |
| Nominative (consonant stem) |
-ne -un | -rena -urun | ||
| Objective (vowel stem) |
-h | l 砂* | -rha | dl |
| Object (consonant stem) |
-he/-ke* | -reha -uruh | ||
*stems ending in -h take the objective suffix -ke in place of -he.
Stem-final, non-breathy consonants combine with the objective suffixes to form breathy consonants. The /x/ of the suffix is simultaneously dropped.
Some words in the -un subclass irregularly take -a in place of -u immediately after the stem.
The following table demonstrates all variations:
| Nominative singular | Nominative plural | Objective singular | Objective plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 下 nuu- "bottom" |
下e nuun | 下下e nuurna | 下l nuuh | 下下l nuurha |
| 道方 munis- "way; method" |
道方e munisun | 道方de munisurun | 道方l munishe | 道方dl munisuruh |
| 足 den- "foot" |
足e dene* | 足足e denrena | 足l denhe | 足足l denreha |
| 物 as- "thing" |
物e asan | 物物e asarun | 物l ashe | 物物l asaruh |
| 帽 rer- "hat" |
帽e rerne | 帽帽e retrena | 帽l rerhe | 帽帽l retreha |
| 翼 siy- "wing" |
翼e siyun | 翼翼e siyurun | 翼l siyhe | 翼翼l siyuruh |
| 芋 dih- "potato" |
芋e dihun | 芋de dihurun | 芋砂 dihke | 芋dl dihuruh |
*Sorry, irregular nominative form on this one!
The unknown case declines mostly predictably, the only real variation being the vowel that appears in the nominative singular of consonant stems, which is determined lexically. As usual, sequences of /ɾ/ + /ɾ/ produce /tɾ/.
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative (vowel stem) |
-nta | 紐 | -reta | d紐 |
| Nominative (consonant stem) |
-unta -inta -anta | |||
| Objective (all stems) |
-ih | l | -rih | dl |
The following table outlines all forms of the unknown gender:
| Nominative singular | Nominative plural | Objective singular | Objective plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 謎 ruisda- "mystery" |
謎紐 ruisdanta | 謎d紐 ruisdareta | 謎l ruisdaih | 謎dl ruisdarih |
| 礎 untusuy- "foundation; base" |
礎紐 untusuyunta | 礎d紐 untusuyreta | 礎L untusuyih | 礎Ld untusuyrih |
| 刃 kis- "knife" |
刃紐 kisinta | 刃刃紐 kisreta | 刃l kisih | 刃刃l kisrih |
| 皮 uh- "skin; hide" |
皮紐 uhanta | 皮d紐 uhreta | 皮l uhih | 皮dl uhrih |
| 類 gur- "class; category; type" |
類紐 gurunta | 類d紐 gutreta | 類l gurih | 類dl gutrih |
Numerous roots contain phonologically disallowed coda consonants that are elided in many instances, but appear in others. Whether they are elided or not depends on the class of the root and the specific case into which it is declined. The following charts will illustrate:
| Animate | NOM | OBJ |
|---|---|---|
| SG | ||
| PL |
| Known | NOM | OBJ |
|---|---|---|
| SG | ||
| PL |
| Unknown | NOM | OBJ |
|---|---|---|
| SG | ||
| PL |
Examples:
| class | root | Nominative singular | Nominative plural | Objective singular | Objective plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animate | 蠍 da(t)- "scorpion" |
蠍斧 data | 蠍蠍斧 darta | 蠍j datey | 蠍蠍j darey |
| Known | 棒 mhu(k)- "bar; bat" |
棒e mhun | 棒de mhukurna | 棒l mhukuh | 棒dl mhukurha |
| Unknown | 会戦 khemesu(t)- "fight; battle" |
会戦紐 khemesunta | 会戦 d紐 khemesureta | 会戦 L khemesutih | 会戦 Ld khemesurih |
✎ Edit Article ✖ Delete Article
Comments
