| |
|
|
Human
relationship may be marked by ny
suffixed to the attributive noun or the genitival to indicate
tenderness. It is a stylistic nuance and is not grammatically
obligatory. |
| |
 1
k mi ny2
 u3
|
‘my1 wife’s2
mother3’ |
b li ny1
ny2
|
‘Balie’s1 son2’ |
j nny1
pu2
|
‘John’s1 father2’ |
|
| |
| Nouns is
genitive relationship with the head noun as illustrated above
have a deteminer function. When vi
is suffixed to them in the absence of the head noun, they
function as nouns and may occur as subjects, predicate nominals
or be followed by case markers. |
| |
vi1
j 2
|
‘I have none’ lit. mine1
none2’ |
 vi
|
‘yours’ |
ls d 1
h 2
nvi3
|
‘this2 book1
(is) yours3’ |
| mzlivi
|
‘Mozolie’s’ |
1
vi2
nn 3
tsli4
|
‘I got4 (it) from3
yours2’ |
|
| |
| 3.11 All of Angami toponyms seem to end in r
which, used indepedently, means ‘place village’. The word r
and all Angami toponyms behave differently from other nouns
(including other place names) as far as case markers are
concerned. They do not take the Locative and Goal case markers.
The usual source case marker for inanimate nouns, viz. nn
drops n. |
| |
| Thus, |
| |
| (i) Goal
marker nu dropped |
| |
1
v zl2
r3
kh 4
|
‘I1 went4
(to) Vizol’s2 village3’ |
| 1
kwhr2
kh3
|
‘I1 went3
(to) Kohima2’ |
|
|
|
|
contrasted with |
|
|
1
dimp r2
n3
v4
|
‘I1 went4
to3 Dimapur2’ |
| 1
k2
n3
v4
|
‘I1 went2
home3’ |
|
|
|
|
(ii) Locative case marker n
and nn
dropped. |
|
|
| 1
vzl2
r3
lhy4
|
‘I1 live4
(in) Vizol’s2 village3’ |
| 1
kewhr2
lhy3
|
‘I1 live3
(in) Kohima2’ |
kwhr1
kl j2
s3
b4
|
‘There are4 three3
colleges2 (in) |
| |
Kohima1’ |
|
|
|
|
Contrasted with |
|
|
| 1
dmpr2
n3
by4
|
‘I1 live4
in3 Dimapur2’ |
1
z 2
k3
n4
by5
|
‘I1 live5
in4 (my) friend’s2
house3’ |
| dmpr1
n2
klj3
s4
b5
|
‘There are5 three4
colleges3 in2
Dimapur1’ |
|
|
|
|
(iii) The source marker nn
becomes n |
|
|
1
vzl2
r3
n4
k r5
|
‘I1 came5
from4 Vizol’s2
village3’ |
1
kwhr2
n3
vr 4
|
‘I1 came4
from3 Kohima2’ |
|
|
|
|
Contrasted with |
|
|
| 1
dmpr2
nn3
khr4
|
‘I1 came4
from3 Dimapur2’ |
| 1
2
k3
nn4
vr5
|
‘I1 came5
from4 my2 house3’ |
|
|
|
|
3.12. Some other postposition8 |
|
|
|
1. khr ‘below; under’ |
k j1
t2
khr3
b4
‘(The) earth1 is4
below3 (the) sky2’ |
|
2. mhg
‘above;over’ |
|
khrih1 ts2
mhg3 ‘(The) fan1 is4
above3 our
b4
heads2’ |
3.  i
‘behind’ |
thnpf 1
pu 2
3 i4
th 5 ‘A girl1 stood5
behind4 me3’ |
|
cht1
kkh2 i3
th4 ‘(The) umbrella1 is4
behind3 (the) door2’ |
|
4. in ‘after’ |
|
1
2 in3
vr ty4 ‘I1 will come4 after3
you2’ |
|
5. mhdz
‘before; in front of’ |
|
pu1
2
mhdz3
vr4 ‘She1 came4 before3
me2’ |
|
ti1 2
k3
mhdz4 ‘There is5 (a) garden1
in front |
|
b5 of4 (our)2 the house3’ |
|
6. pny
‘near’ |
|
pu
pny
‘near him’ |
|
1
thy2
pny3
v4 ‘I1 went4 near3
(the) pig2’ |
|
7. khik ‘by the side of’ |
|
A1
khik2
bli3 ‘Sit3 by2 my1
side2’ |
|
8. pfth
‘across’ |
|
pu1
ch2
pfth3
v4 ‘She1 went4 across3
(the) road2’ |
|
|
|
_____________ |
|
8There seems to be no criterion (except
one’s intuition) to distinguish between case markers and these
postpositions - a problem yet unsolved in the Fill- morean
conceptual framework. |
