Pluralization & Dualization

Ah-mavi nouns have three grammatical numbers:

• Singular — no number suffix

• Dual — exactly two

• Plural — more than two

The basic suffixes are:

However, certain final sounds trigger alternative suffixes to make the final word easier on the tongue so keep that in mind for later.

Singular:

A singular noun receives no suffix.

tso — water
tɯkx — PVC wood
kæɸɯ — the color

Dual:

The normal dual suffix is:

/ɛʃ/

It indicates exactly two of something.

Example

tso → tsoʃ
two waters / two quantities of water

kæɸɯ → kæɸɯʃ
two instances of the color

Vowel-final nouns

If a noun ends in a vowel, the final vowel is removed and replaced by the initial vowel of the suffix.

Thus:

X-V + /ɛʃ/ → X-ɛʃ

The original ending vowel is overwritten.

If a noun already ends in /ʃ/, the normal dual suffix /ɛʃ/ is not used.

Instead, the dual suffix becomes:

/ɛtsɑ/

Formula

Noun-ʃ + /ɛtsɑ/

This prevents the dual form from producing an awkward /ʃɛʃ/ sequence.

Example

Since a noun that ends with /ʃ/ has not been made yet, here's a hypothetical noun ending with /ʃ/:

Xʃ → Xʃɛtsɑ

Plural:

The normal plural suffix is:

/ok/

It indicates more than two.

Example

kæɸɯ → kæɸok

(final vowel overwritten)

This next word is special:

tɯkx → tɯkxɯn
more than two pieces/instances of PVC wood

The special rule below applies because tɯkx ends in a /kx/-type sound.

f a noun ends in a sound belonging to the /k/-like group:

• /k/

• /kx/

• /gɣ/

the normal plural suffix /ok/ is replaced by:

/ɯn/

tɯkx → tɯkxɯn

Summary: