Certain
nouns are derived in Apatani from items that inherently
show certain case relations like agent, instrumental, locative,
etc. They are discussed separately below :
Agentive
Noun :-
In
Apatani agentive nouns are formed by adding ‘n’
to the verb root. It indicates the doer of the action. When ‘n’
is added, we get a generic noun. If it is to be specified ‘bo’ is
added to the generic noun.
ajimn
‘farmer (one who works
in the paddy field)’
pur n
‘student (one who reads)’
inbo
‘one who went (specified)’
anbo
‘one who came (specified)’
adonbo
‘one who is coming (specified)’
Instrumental
Noun :- Instrumental nouns are formed by adding ‘na’ to
the verb root followed by ‘n’.
It indicates the instrument that is used in the action and hence
gets a new semantic content.
nnan
‘walking stick
(the one used to walk)’
pnan
‘broom (the one the is
used to sweep)’
dannan
‘stick (the one that is
used to beat)’
Locative
Nouns :- Locative nouns identify the place of action
identified by the verb. When ‘ko’ is added to
the verb root, it gets converted into a noun that indicates
the place of action.
luko
‘place where talking took
place’
mko
‘place where action took place’
dko
‘place where eating took place’
biko
‘place where giving took place’
Objective
Nouns :- Objective nouns indicate the objects involved
in the action. It is formed by - ko ‘place noun’
and ‘bo’ the specifier.
’
to the verb root. It indicates the doer of the action. When ‘n
