Agent Noun
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The singular agent noun is fomred
by adding the agentive aba to verbal nouns. Note that tense suffix can be added to the
verb root.
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kidun aba![](image/nbar.gif) |
‘one who goes’ |
kidunji aba![](image/nbar.gif) |
‘one who will go’ |
kecho aba![](image/nbar.gif) |
‘one who is sick, patient’ |
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The plural is formed
by adding the plural marker atum to the verbal noun.
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keva atum
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‘those who come’ |
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Gender |
A two-way distinction of gender is
made in human and animate nouns, viz., masculine and feminine. In human nouns, gender
is marked in three ways. Among kinship terms gender is marked lexically in most of the
terms.
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po |
pey |
‘father’
|
‘mother’
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phu |
phi |
‘grandfather’
|
‘grandmother’ |
ik |
ni |
‘elder brother’
|
‘elder sister, etc.’
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penan |
picho |
‘husband’
|
‘wife’
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pincho |
arlocho |
‘man, male’ |
‘woman, female; |
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In other kinship
terms, gender is marked by adding the attributes -po ‘male and pi
‘female’ to free or bound base nouns. |
chopo |
chopi |
‘son’
|
‘daughter’
|
hemepo |
hemepi |
‘widower’
|
‘widow’
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tepo |
tepi |
‘father’s sister’s
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‘elder brother’s
|
son (elder) |
wife, etc.’ |
korpo
|
korpi
|
‘father’s sister’s |
‘wife’s younger |
son (younger)
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sister, etc.’
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armopo |
armopi |
‘daughter-in-law’s
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‘daughter-in-law’s |
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mother’
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jirpo |
jirpi |
‘boy-friend’
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‘girl-friend’
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arnam(po) |
arnampi |
‘God’ |
‘Goddess’ |
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In the following example, the word
for ‘man, male’ pincho is
masculine and the word for ‘woman, female’ arlocho is female.
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