Here
again a two-tier division could be made - (a) nouns referring
to man, and (b) nouns referring to animals.
Noun
Referring to Man
/pá/
versus /nú/
/únáu
pá/
‘brother’
/únáu
nú/
‘sister’
/púonsptù
pa/
‘washer
man’
púonsptù
nú/
‘washer
woman’
/súok
pà/
‘male
slave’
/súok
nù/
‘female
slave’
/zíektù
pá/
‘male
writer’
/zíektù
nù/
‘female
writer’
/hótù
pá/
‘teacher’
/hótù
nú/
‘mistress’
/hláphúoktù
pá/
‘poet’
/lál
pá/
‘emperor’
/lál
nú/
‘empress’
/lál
náu pá/
‘prince’
/lál
náu nú/
‘princess’
/rámptù
pa/
'governor’
/rámptùnú/
'governess'
/pà(sál)/
versus
/nùhmèi/
father’,
/bàrúa
pà/
‘Mr.
Baruah’s
/brúa
nùhmèi/
‘Mrs.
Baruah’
/náu
pásàl/
‘male
child’
/ná
nùhmèi/
‘female
child’
/lúvtù
pá/
‘barbar’
/lúvtù
núhmèi/
‘wife
of barber’
/pà/
versus
/pí/
/dú:t
pù/
‘milk
man’
/dú:t
pì/
‘milk
woman’
Nouns
Referring to Animals
/cál/
versus
/púi/
or /lá/
/kè:l
cál/
‘he
goat’
/kè:l
púi/
‘she
goat’
/sàkéibáknèi
càl/
‘lion’
/sàkéibáknèi
pùi/
‘lioness’
/sàkéi
cál/
‘tiger’
/sàkéi
púi/
‘tigress’
/sàkr
càl/
‘horse’
/sàkr
pùi/
‘mare’
/li
cál/
‘he
buffalo’
/li
púi/
‘she
buffalo’
/sàkhì
cál/
‘male
deer'
/sàkhì
púi/
‘female
deer’
/cál-tè/
versus
/púi-tè/
/b
cál tè/
‘he
calf’
/bpui
tè/
‘she
calf’
/sàzù:k
cá lté/
‘male
fawn’
/sàzù:k
púi tè/
‘female
fawn’
/túoi/
‘male
species not yet mature’
/lá:/
‘female
species before giving birth’
Gender
of Nouns of General Reference
Nouns
in general reference do not show any gender distinction. The
bare base forms or the noun roots are only used in such cases.
For
example:
/mìhríem
thíthéi á nìh/
‘man
is mortal’
/sàkéiín
kè:l án fà:k/
‘tigers
eat goats’
/náupá
an àp/
‘children
cry’
Similarly,
lower creatures, for which natural gender reference is irrelevant,
do not show any gender-distinction. Since gender distinction
is not grammatically relevant, second language learners need
not bother much about the gender status of a particular noun.
3.2.1.7
Case
of Nouns
Nouns
in Hmar manifest some sort of inflection for case. But Hmar
case system is not comparable to that of Indo Aryan languages.
Therefore, distinct case endings generally traceable in other
Indo Aryan languages are not there in Hmar. While some case-relationships
are marked by suffixation, some other are merely realised
by using post positions only. Of the suffixation again some
are overtly marked while others are covertly marked by {-zero}.
ptù
pa/
rúa
nùhmèi/
r
càl/
cál tè/
àp/
