Nouns in Proto-Drem:
Nouns in Proto-Drem are just like most languages are considered ‘person,
place or thing’. Something concrete, tangible, of substance, something we can
see, taste, feel, hear and touch. The world around us are full of these things,
and in Proto-Drem, these thing are usually nouns.
Noun Classes in Proto-Drem:
Noun classes are an integral part of the way items and objects are
categorized in Proto-Drem. Noun classes are like gender markers but used for
all sorts of objects, humans included. Noun classes for the language give the
language a distinct Bantu look and feel in this respect, since there is no
‘gender’, yet with the noun classes, one can consider them ‘genders’. Like
Proto-Bantu, Proto-Drem has 24 noun classes, some of but unlike every Bantu
structure which uses noun classes for locatives, Proto-Drem does not. One very
important note about noun class usage in Proto-Drem, while in Bantu languages,
noun classes are required, due to the large amount of ‘stuff drop’ in Proto-Drem,
most of the time in speech, noun classes are dropped and not used. In formal
speech, these noun classes will be used.
|
CLS |
Plurality |
Mkr |
Meaning |
|
1 |
sg |
m- |
Personal
nouns (on, by, belonging to, of Self) |
|
1a |
sg |
mú- |
Personal nouns
(on, by, belonging to, of Other) |
|
2 |
pl |
w- |
Personal
nouns (on, by, belonging to, of Self) |
|
2a |
pl |
wà- |
Personal
nouns (on, by, belonging to, of Other) |
|
3 |
sg |
m- |
Names of
trees/other plants/inanimate things made of wood & plants |
|
4 |
pl |
mí- |
Names of
trees/other plants/inanimate things made of wood & plants |
|
5 |
sg |
mè- |
Names of
fruit/nuts that come from trees and bushes |
|
6 |
pl |
m- |
Names of
fruit/nuts that come from trees and bushes |
|
7 |
sg |
vè- |
Names of tools/Miscellaneous
objects things made of stone & metal |
|
8 |
pl |
vì- |
Names of
tools/Miscellaneous objects things made of stone & metal |
|
9 |
sg |
n- |
Animal
names/inanimate things made of animal hide, bone, etc |
|
10 |
pl |
nì- |
Animal names/inanimate
things made of animal hide, bone, etc |
|
11 |
sg |
ù- |
Thin and
long things |
|
12 |
sg |
w- |
Small,
short, squat, wide things |
|
13 |
pl |
wù- |
Small,
short, squat, wide things |
|
14 |
Sg/pl |
bó- |
Names of
abstract things |
|
15 |
neut |
go- |
Verbal
infinitives |
|
16 |
- |
b’á- |
Liquids |
|
17 |
sg |
mbó- |
Powders,
minerals |
|
18 |
pl |
mbu- |
Powders,
minerals |
|
19 |
nt |
zè- |
Spirits/elemental
beings |
|
20 |
sg |
sò- |
Sacred
places |
|
21 |
pl |
sì- |
Sacred
places |
|
22 |
sg |
fa- |
Medicines/herbs |
|
23 |
pl |
fe- |
Medicines/herbs |
|
24 |
- |
í- |
Numbers/counting |
Noun
classes are used in two different ways. First, noun classes are used as a
classifier word used with numbers and counting. Secondly, as in formal marking
of the fixes set of markers for pronoun, and agreement. In the first way,
Proto-Drem works like Thai in that the noun classes are seen in the syntax as
‘CL’ where they are needed as a unit of measurement when counting things. In
this case, it would be CL24 which is the noun class for numbers and counting.
They can be seen easily in sentences like ‘I want to buy 4 slaves.’ Or ‘bring
me those 3 bushes’ or the phrase ‘six nuts’ or ‘three apples”. The use of these
class suffixes will be more fully explained in the chapter on Numbers below.
The second way makes Proto-Drem look very much like Bantu languages of southern
and eastern African. Proto-Drem, by using these noun classes, shows a distinct
cultural organization, and scholars has suggested that these noun classes have
been used for several thousand years before the advent of Proto-Drem, and even
a few thousand years after Proto-Drem was considered a dead language. There by
making noun classes one of the longest lasting unchanged features of the
language.
Noun Class
oddities:
As a
pronoun:
Only noun
class 1 is used this way and exclusively for humans and only in the plural.
Here is an example, which used NC1 mú- instead of the
natural pronoun ba- (they). People think that due to
vowel harmony, the /a/ was rounded and backed to /u/ for it to acquire is
present sound. And so scholars think the sound originally was *mba-.
XXX
NC1+sit
They
(humans) are sitting
Noun Classes:
Below in this
section will be examples of how a particular noun class is used. With each noun
class will be a note to particular things that will be in this noun class. Some
items will be odd and requires a deeper thinking for one to understand why a
particular item is there, but the notes will try to explain why that item is
there. The general structure of noun classes are in two groups, a personal and
non-personal. The personal noun class almost works like a possessive pronoun or
associative pronoun as it marks an object(s) owned by the speaker or someone
else.
Personal Noun
classes:
1 This noun class deals with an object
possesses, on, near the speaker
XXX
NC1+object
That’s mine (my object)
1a this noun class works similar to NC1,
except that this deals with an object possessed or associated with someone who
is not the speaker.
XXX
NC1a+object
That’s yours (your object)
2 This
noun class works very similar to NC1, except that this one deals with plural
objects possessed by the speaker. Note the
similarities of noun class 2 and 2a. The Drem handle this issue by pointing to
the owner/possessor of the objects, so that there is no confusion there.
XXX
NC2+object
Those are mine (my objects)
2a This NC works very similar to NC2, yet
this deals with multiple objects owned.
XXX
NC2a+object
Those are yours (your objects)
Non Personal Noun
classes:
Noun classes dealing with wood, fruit, nuts:
3 Names of tree/other plant/inanimate
thing made of wood & plants
XXX
NC3+oak tree
Oak tree
4 Names of trees/other plants/inanimate
things made of wood & plants
XXX
NC4+oak tree
Grove of oak trees
5 Names of fruit/nut that come from
trees and bushes
XXX
NC5+walnut
Walnut
6 Names of fruits/nuts that come from
trees and bushes
XXX
NC6+walnut
walnut
Noun classes dealing with Tools, metal and stone:
7 Names of tools/Miscellaneous objects
things made of stone & metal
XXX
NC7+knife
Knife
8 Names of tools/Miscellaneous objects
things made of stone & metal
XXX
NC8+knife
Knife
Noun classes dealing with natural objects:
9 Animal name/inanimate thing made of
animal hide, bone, etc
XXX
NC9+wolf
A wolf
10 Animal names/inanimate things made of
animal hide, bone, etc
XXX
NC10+wolf
A pack of wolves
11 This
noun class deals with thin and long things. Items includes males and things
which are tall or long and slender, or narrow such as fish, crocodile, long
snakes, arrows, spears and tall slender trees. The item might be small in size
or large, it doesn’t really matter, and just the overall shape determines this
noun class. Note that this noun class only deals with singular objects.
XXX
NC11+stick
Long stick
12 This
noun class deals with small, short, squat, wide objects, no matter if ‘alive’
or not. So things which are short, squat or wide, such as turtles, frogs,
houses, fighting shields, and trees that are typically more round and squat
than others. and items like these are small.
XXX
NC12 + stick
Round, squat stick
13 This noun class works just like NC12,
yet this noun class works specifically with multiple small objects. So babies,
daggers and sticks are seen
XXX
NC13+stick
Round, squat sticks
Noun classes dealing with Abstracts:
14 Names of abstract things
XXX
NC14+space
space
Verbal Infinitive Noun class:
15 Verbal infinitives
XXX
XXX
Noun classes dealing with Liquids, Powders and Minerals:
16 Liquids
XXX
NC16+blood
Blood
17 Powder/Mineral
XXX
NC17+rock
A single rock
18 Powders/Minerals
XXX
NC18+metal
Metal ore (in Dremish times, only copper was being smelted.)
Noun classes dealing with the sacred:
19 This
noun class can be ambiguous in how it deals with its main focus, spirits and
elemental beings. Most of the time, spirits are found alone, although ancestor
spirits are commonly found in groups. For some reason, still somewhat hazy is
why this noun class is for both singular and plural spirits. A few examples
will be provided to show how this noun class is used.
XXX
NC19+spirit
The spirit
XXX
NC19+spirit
The spirit
XXX
NC19+spirit
The spirit
20 Noun
class 20 is for sacred places. The objects inside, like grass or a rock might
not be sacred, but usually the trees, especially oak are sacred within a sacred
place. This noun class specifically deals with a singular sacred object.
XXX
NC20 + oak tree
sacred tree
21 This noun class works very similar to
noun class 22, but here, we deal with plural sacred objects.
XXX
NC21+ oak tree
Grove of sacred trees
Noun classes dealing with a medicine or herb:
22 Noun
class 22 deals with medicines and herbs, which is a sacred part of shamans’
duties for his clan and tribe. Here, this noun class deals with a singular
object that is a medicine or herb.
XXX
NC22+pine nut
A single pine nut
23 This
noun class deals with medicines and herbs just like noun class 22 does. This
class is for plural medicines and herbs, or even a single herb, just in a
plural amount as seen below.
XXX
NC23+pine nut
Many pine nuts
Noun class dealing with mathematics:
24 Numbers/Counting
ila
NC24+object
An object
Pronoun Concords Chart
|
|
Personal Pr |
Emphatic Pr |
Associate Pr |
Possess Pr |
Reflexive |
As a SUBJ |
As a DO |
As an IDO |
|
I |
Ŋi- |
gi (me!) |
nemi (me too) |
mi- (mine!) |
Ŋèmi (myself) |
èŋi- |
-ŋi |
èŋi- |
|
You |
u- |
wú (you!) |
newú (you too) |
gu- (yours!) |
Ŋèwú (yourself) |
u- |
-wù |
owû- |
|
he, she, it |
ú- ((s)he) gu- (it) |
jú ((s)he!) jû
(it) |
noju (h/h/i
too) |
ŋgù- (h/h/i!) |
ŋóju |
ú- / ógù |
-wú |
owú- /ogú- |
|
We |
sì- |
ndì (us!) |
nedi (us too) |
di- (ours) |
Ŋèdi (ourselves) |
esì- |
-si |
èsì- |
|
They |
bà- |
bo (they!) |
nàbo (they too |
bu- (theirs) |
Ŋàbo (themselves) |
ába- |
-bá |
ambà- |
Pronouns in Proto-Drem:
Pronouns
are important words which are there in place of some nouns in a sentence. In
Proto-Drem, the pronouns are definitely different than what are seen in
European languages, where here, the categories deal with personal, emphatic,
and possessive, associative, as a subject, a direct object and as an indirect
object. The section below will generally is what can be seen thru Proto-Drem
for pronouns and their various usages. The one big thing to notice is that
there is no overt distinction between sexes, nor is there an obvious
distinction between ‘singular’ and ‘plural’. Also note that some of the pronouns
are prefixes, some are suffixes, while others are strictly independent. All
this will be detailed so one has a good handle on pronoun usage. A key in
Proto-Drem usage is context and the innate ability for ‘stuff drop’ whereby a
lot of pronouns are spoken of thru context and not even spoken, so that a lot
of times in speaking, pronouns aren’t even used except for formal speech, where
the usage demands it.
Personal Pronouns:
I:
XXX
1P+person
I (am a)
person
He/She:
XXX
2P+person
He/She (is
a) person
It:
XXX
3P+person
It’s a
person
You:
XXX
2P+person
You (are a)
person
We:
XXX
2PP+person
We (are)
people
They:
XXX
3PP+person
They (are)
people
Emphatic Pronouns:
Emphatic
pronouns are the first of the pronouns we’ll see which are strictly
independent. These pronouns are used in a lot of ways like Interjections, in
that an emphatic pronoun could in one sense be used as an entire sentence, or a
reply. Once again, we see the same pattern for all pronouns occur whereby we
have the lack of sex distinction, and a subtle singular, dual and plural
distinction for pronouns.
I:
XXX
EmpP
Me!
He/She:
XXX
EmpP
He/She!
You
XXX
EmpP
You!
We:
XXX
EmpP
We!
They:
XXX
EmpP
Them!
Possessive Pronouns:
Possessive
pronouns are a prefix like regular personal pronouns.
I:
XXX
1PPoss+mountain
My mountain
He/She/It:
XXX
2PPoss+person
His/Her
mountain
You
XXX
2PPoss+mountain
Your
mountain
We
XXX
2PPoss+mounatin
Our
mountain
They:
XXX
3PPoss+mounatin
Their
mountain
Reflexive Pronouns:
Reflexive
pronouns are a prefix like regular personal pronouns.
I:
XXX
1P reflex
Myself
He/She/It:
XXX
2P reflex
Himself/herself/itself
You
XXX
2P reflex
Yourself
We
XXX
2PPLU
reflex
Ourselves
They:
XXX
3PPLU
reflex
Themselves
Associative
Pronouns:
Associative
pronouns are dealt with in normal discussion as far as clan or village
affiliations, of even raiding parties, and even mate selections, so here these
pronouns, though normally dropped, when the need arises, the pronouns will be
used with exacting directness. Associative pronouns are like Emphatic ones, are
independent pronouns, but not in the same way that Emphatic pronouns are used.
The usage is more complex and in some ways, almost demands being an affix
instead of being an independent which sometimes clutters up the meaning in
ways. Associate pronouns can be combined with associate concords, though is
used rarely, since the use of the associative pronoun gives an added emphasis
with the association and not really adds to the detail or information. These
pronouns can also be seen combining with demonstrative and negative concords,
yet like above, is used rarely though.
Associative
Pronouns in ways can act similar to Possessive pronouns in that the speaker is
speaking of an association between an object and themselves. Thus when a group
of hunters is going raiding, a young boy might say “Wait, me too!”, the boy is saying an associative pronoun to associate
himself with the hunters. Also when a clan counsel declares a decision, they
might declare a person to join in or support the decision. So an Associative
pronoun can be used in various ways, as the decision is usually made and an action
to be taken immediately, unless clarified, the immediate non-past is always
assumed to be the tense, and the decisional or imperative are the usually
assumed modals.
I:
XXX
AssP
me too!
He/She/It:
XXX
AssP
He too!
You:
XXX
AssP
You too
We:
XXX
AssP
We too!
They:
XXX
AssP
They too!
Subject Pronouns:
Subject
Pronouns are rarely used, but with compound sentences or other detailed
sentences, subject pronouns are used to clarify statements to not a lot of
confusion arises. The need arises when the pronoun is needed as a subject,
which can be common are some moods such as decisional, or imperative. The key
is that with certain moods, the pronoun is dropped since the speaker is
generally making it clear of whom they are talking about.
I:
XXX
SubP+person
I am a
person…
He/She/It:
XXX
SubP+person
He/She is a
person…
You:
XXX
SubP+person
You are a
person…
We:
XXX
SubP+person
We are
people…
They:
XXX
SubP+person
They are
people…
Direct Object
Pronouns:
Like Subject
pronouns, this marker is usually dropped from normal usage, yet when finer
details need to be clarified, these will be used. The idea behind this pronoun
is when a sentences like “I see you”, the word ‘you’ would use a DO Pronoun and
unlike the subject pronoun, the DO and IDO pronouns are rarely dropped. Also
like the subject pronouns, the DO Pronouns are raised as a grammatical object
and so can be attached directly to a verb root.
I:
XXX
DOP+person
I am a
person…
He/She/It:
XXX
DOP+person
He/She is a
person…
You:
XXX
DOP+person
You are a
person…
We:
XXX
DOP+person
We are
people…
They:
XXX
DOP+person
They are
people…
Indirect Object
Pronouns:
Like
Subject pronouns, this marker can be dropped from normal usage, yet when finer
details need to be clarified, these will be used. The IDO Pronoun would be used
in a sentence like “I saw you with him” where the word ‘him’ is the IDO
Pronoun. Like the DO Pronoun, this is rarely dropped from usage and the IDO
Pronoun is raised to a grammatical IDO and will be used as such instead of as a
‘normal’ affix.
I:
XXX
IDOP+person
I am a
person…
He/She/It:
XXX
IDOP+person
He/She is a
person…
You:
XXX
IDOP+person
You are a
person…
We:
XXX
IDOP+person
We are
people…
They:
XXX
IDOP+person
They are people…
Miscellaneous
Pronoun additions:
These
pronouns can work with several different sentence types. One way that is
commonly seen is as a reply to a question. The unusual structure with this
shows the question marker, not at the end like the standard usage states, but
here at the beginning of the sentence. In the examples below, I will show a
simple question and the reply to show the construction.
Replying
to a question
XXX
Why?
XXX? XXX
QUAFF CONJ IDOP+mountain
Why?
Because (those are) mountains.
Noun Concords Chart
|
|
example |
Marker |
|
Attributive |
One person |
mí- |
|
Associative |
A person from … |
-nèlə- |
|
Demonstrative |
That person |
-mb’ú- |
|
Demonstrative |
This sacred pipe |
-b’ú- |
|
Negative |
Person is not |
-nà- |
|
Relative |
The person who came |
-jê- |
|
Reflexive |
Himself |
-d’u |
Types of Concords in Proto-Drem:
These
concords will of course be used for various things, on either the Animate or
Inanimate side. Attributive concords deal with an attribute, normally a number,
and so are in some ways considered a redundant feature of the NC24. Associative
concords are usually dealing with how an object associates with another object,
and is used in varied ways here, note that the concord works differently from
the pronoun above. Demonstrative concords are just like a Demonstrative pronoun
in English, this & that. Negative concords are a standard way of negation,
and are uncommonly used variant of the NEG na-. What
makes it unusual is it can be specific about what is negated, so that while a
sentence might be true, and has no need for the sentence initial na- particle, but a phrase can be negated and so the
concord is used. Relative concords deal with how one object relates to one
another, and with related noun phrases within sentences.
Structure
of concords, especially a string of concords called a combined concord
generally sticks to standard syntax seen in Proto-Drem, with one general
exception. The exception is that the ‘focus’ or main concord in speech is
always put first, and so after that, concords keep to what is generally seen.
Not that not all concords can combine will all other concords or pronouns, and
so care must be used when mixing these together.
Usage of
Attributive Concords:
Used in
numbers and in a quantitative amount for both subjects and objects. But with
the usage for nouns, care must be taken in dealing with subjects compared to
objects. Note that in colloquial speech, the use of the attributive nouns is
beginning to fall off, while in formal speech, the concords are still used.
Subjects:
Regular
concord usage:
XXX
NUM+CONC+NC+SUBJ
Three
people
XXX
NUM+CONC+NC+SUBJ
Three birds
Combined
concord usage:
XXX
NUM-CONC+Poss+NC+SUBJ
My three
birds
A
negative possessive pronoun concord
XXX
NEG+NUM-CONC-PossP+SUBJ
Not my
three birds
Objects:
Regular
concord usage:
XXX
OBJ+NC+CONC+NUM
Three
people
XXX
OBJ+NC+CONC+NUM
Three birds
Combined
concord usage:
XXX
OBJ+NC+Poss+CONC+NUM
My three
birds
A
negative possessive pronoun concord
XXX
NEG … OBJ+NC+Poss+CONC+NUM
Not my
three birds
Usage of
Associative Concords:
How one
object relates to another object, used in terms of location (from), have been
known to be used as locatives from time to time. Note due to the explicit
construction, the concord can be used with both subjects and objects with no
difference in structure, but the intent is for use with nouns being a DO and
IDO.
Regular
concord usage
XXX
CONC-NOUN-NOUN
The sweet
grass from the hut
XXX
CONC-NOUN-NOUN
The Leaf
from the oak tree
These concords
generally are used in noun phrases. A commonly used theme is as an imperative
as in ‘go get X’ where the sentence would be TEN+Verb+CONC+X
(from) X. The importance about this structure is that the concord shows the
item to go get. Since if the concord would be “properly” placed at the end, the
sentence would read go get the hut from the sweet grass which would be wrong.
So this structure is one of the few times, the normal verb-object attachment
can be severed.
XXX
TEN+VERB-CONC-NOUN-NOUN
Go get the
sweet grass from the hut!
Combined
concord usage:
This
combination of associative pronoun with this concord is usually only seen more
formal speech and is usually relegated to commands.
XXX XXX
AssP
TEN+VERB-CONC-NOUN-NOUN
You too! Go
get the sweet grass from the hut!
Usage of
Demonstrative Concords:
This is the
commonly seen ‘this’ or ‘that’ in sentences and very commonly heard in
Proto-Drem. Normally the demonstrative pronoun is used only when clarification
is needed, say when there are 4 huts, and the speaker is pointing to their hut
of the 4. Demonstrative pronouns are typically seen in languages, even English
as “This cat”, “That rat” and so on. Note that the subjects and objects are
used in reverse order as most other concords show.
Subjects:
Regular
concord usage:
XXX
CONC+NC+NOUN
That hut
XXX
CONC+NC+NOUN
This person
Combined
concord usage:
XXX
CONC-PossP+NC+NOUN
That (is)
my hut
This
combination is usually only seen more formal speech and is usually relegated to
commands. Note that this combination can only be used with subjects due to the
initial Associative pronoun usage.
XXX XXX
AssP
CONC+NC+NOUN
You too!
This person
Objects:
Regular
concord usage:
XXX
NOUN+NC+CONC
That hut
XXX
NOUN+NC+CONC
This person
Combined
concord usage:
XXX
NOUN+NC+Poss+CONC
That (is)
my hut
Usage of Negative
Concords:
Here is an
uncommonly used form of negation seen in Proto-Drem. The varied forms of
negation are seen below in the chapter on Negation, but this way is usually the
simple way seen and used. The concord is usually placed as a prefix to the
object or thing negated. The only major difference between this way and the
normal ways of negation seen below is that this concord is specifically for
nouns as in this example: ‘The toad is not mine’. Note that the negative
concord also is used with negating verbs, and so is seen as a ‘formal’ way, and
the concord is the same, and the usage is basically the same as well. The
second example will show another way concords can be used, that of stacking
them, in this case, a NEG-DEMO concord stack for ‘not this’
So then,
what is the difference between the negative concord and the standard form of
negation (na-). The standard
form negates the whole meaning of the sentence, so that there is no confusion
what-so-ever that the meaning of the statement is false. But with this concord,
only a small phrase can be negated and this preserves the general ‘honesty’ of
the rest of the sentence. The usage of this concord can be abused, and misused,
so speakers must be careful of what they are negating. Also note that if the
whole statement is to be negated, then the standard NEG- will be used, but only
if a phrase needs to be negated, then the concord is to be used. The negative
concord can be used with tenses and moods just like regular negation, but
usually imperatives, advisory, and hortative moods will be used, and
immediate-non-past tenses will be used. For a more detailed use of negation
using tenses and moods, look up the section on tenses and moods.
Regular
Negation usage:
XXX
NEG-VERB-NOUN-NOUN
Don’t get
the sweet grass from the hut
XXX
NEG-DEMO-NOUN
Not this
person
Regular
XXX
NCONC-VERB-PRO
Don’t get
it …
XXX
NCONC-DEMO-NOUN
Not this
person …
Usage of Relative
Concords:
The concords
here show a relation for the nouns spoken of. An example is ‘the people who’ . Also just like the above concords, one must take note
of dealing with subjects or objects as the affix order is basically reversed.
Subjects:
Regular
concord usage:
XXX
CONC-NC+SUBJ
People who…
XXX
CONC-NC+SUBJ
Huts which
…
Combined
concord usage:
Possessive
pronouns used in combination with this concord are familiar as the above
examples show.
XXX
CONC+Poss+NC+SUBJ
My people’
who…
XXX
CONC+Poss+NC+SUBJ
My huts’ which
…
Here we
have a possessive pronoun together with a negative concord to show negative
possession.
XXX
NEG+CONC+Poss+NC+SUBJ
Not my
people who…
XXX
NEG+CONC+Poss+NC+SUBJ
Not my
huts’… which …
This
combined concord is lengthy, and more of a formal style, with other clauses and
usually a conjunction to add additional information are rarely seen. The length
of the concord string is basically at four which is nearly the most concord
strings get. A negative possessive pronoun concord is typical is making fairly
large concord strings which we can see an example below.
XXX
NEG+CONC+NUM-CONC+Poss+NC+SUBJ
Not my
three birds’ … which …
Objects:
Regular
concord usage:
XXX
OBJ+NC+CONC
People who…
XXX
OBJ+NC+CONC
Huts which
…
Combined
concord usage:
Possessive
pronouns used in combination with this concord are familiar as the above
examples show.
XXX
OBJ+NC+Poss+CONC
My people’
who…
XXX
OBJ+NC+Poss+CONC
My huts’
which …
Here we
have a possessive pronoun together with a negative concord to show negative
possession.
XXX
NEG … OBJ+NC+Poss+CONC
Not my
people who…
XXX
NEG … OBJ+NC+Poss+CONC
Not my
huts’… which …
This
combined concord is lengthy, and more of a formal style, with other clauses and
usually a conjunction to add additional information are rarely seen. The length
of the concord string is basically at four which is nearly the most concord
strings get. A negative possessive pronoun concord is typical is making fairly
large concord strings which we can see an example below.
XXX
NEG … OBJ+NC+Poss+CONC+NUM+CONC
Not my
three birds’ … which …
Nouns Derived from Verbs in
Proto-Drem:
Stuff…
XXX
to hear > ear
XXX
To sing
> song
XXX
to travel > journey
Nouns ending in /i/:
Used for
trades and occupations. Uses the noun classes 1 and 2 for the initial and the
final vowel are changed to an <i>.
VERB >
NC+ROOT (-FV)+i
XXX
To
contradict > a quarrelsome person
XXX
to raise > a midwife
XXX
to hear
> ear
XXX
to travel
> journey
XXX
To father >
a parent
Using the DOER verb
to create nouns:
These are
based on the addition of the ‘doer’ verb –bo.
The noun initial uses the noun class 1 or 2 and the final vowel isn’t changed
as the ‘doer’ suffix is tacked on.
VERB > NC+ROOT+bo
XXX
To lead
> a leader
XXX
to play > a player
XXX
To keep
> a shepard
XXX
To sing > a singer
XXX
to cultivate > a farmer
XXX
to speak > a speaker
XXX
To watch
> a spectator
XXX
to be calm > a quiet person
Nouns ending in
/u/:
Used for abstract
nouns. The process works just as above with the /i/
nouns.
VERB >
NC+ROOT (-FV)+u
XXX
to destroy > destruction
XXX
to miss > lack, shortage
XXX
to be reduced > rarefaction
XXX
To be calm
> calm, peacefulness
XX
to be forgetful > forgetfulness
Nouns ending in
/e/:
Used for
undefined actions. The process works just as above with the /i/ nouns.
VERB >
NC+ROOT (-FV)+e
XXX
to conquer > a defeat
XXX
To propose
> a declaration
XXX
to cover > a lid
XXX
to sing > a song
XXX
To agree
> an agreement
XXX
to stop, to cork > a stopper
Nouns starting with
/n/:
This
derivational way is a strange derivation with the addition of n.
VERB >
NC+ROOT
XXX
To come
> a way
XXX
to marry > a marriage
XXX
to dream > a dream
XXX
to rejoice > joy
XXX
to wait > patience
XXX
to cure > a healer
Nouns derived due
to degree affixes
The section
on degree affixes are talked about in more detail on the chapter on them, this
will give an idea what degree words can do to derive new noun roots. The
examples below will use the diminutive degree with brings a general sense of a
smaller or little version of the root.
XXX
a stone > a pebble
XXX
A mountain
> a hill
XXX
a river > a brook
XXX
A child
> a toddler
XXX
a ladle > a spoon
The
examples below will use the degree word that acts like an augmentive.
XXX
a tree > a large tree
XXX
a snake > a large snake (usually thought of as around 20’ to 25’ in length)
The below
examples will use the degree word that acts like the plural marker in ways, but
is more specific than the general plural.
XXX
A friend
> a circle of friends
XXX
a fish > a school of fish
XXX
an antelope > a herd of antelope
Mixing verbal
derivation with noun derivation:
Since
derivation can be complex and sometimes confusing, note that the two can be
mixed to give a wide variety of meanings on one simple root. Below will be the
use of a simple verb root (to love) and show what kind of new roots one can
easily see with derivation usage.
To love
XXX
to love > mark of affection
> Desire, affection
> A lover
> Love
XXX
to be loved > a loved one, dear
XXX
to have affection for > inclination, favoritism
XXX
to love each other > reciprocal love
To go
Below will be
examples for the verb root (to go). Note how some of the words are more
abstract, while others are fairly clear.
XXX
To go > a movement
> a companion
XXX
To lead
> a driver (the “captain” of a large canoe with at least several people
rowing)
XXX
to progress > development