Nouns, their classifications and how to discern them.
2 min read · 421 words
Nouns can seem confusing in this language, but once you have the hand of how to discern them and then tell their type, it becomes very easy.
How to discern them in a sentence ?
Nouns are very easy to discern, just look at the ending letter of a lemma, if it ends with either of three nasal consonants 'ᛜ' (ŋ), 'ᚾ' (n), 'ᛗ' (m), then it is a noun ! (This is considering that there are no declensions)
What does each ending consonant mean ?
Easy ! If you have a 'ᛜ' (ŋ), it either means that the noun is singular and simple, or singular and CRSing. ; if you have a 'ᛗ' (m), it either means that the noun is plural and simple, or singular and CRPlur ; and if you have a 'ᚾ' (n), it means that the noun is plural and CRPlur.
Now, you're gonna ask, "What does CRSing. and CRPlur. mean ?" I'll answer that when talking about all the classifications.
How to tell their gender ?
Not very hard either ! If before the ending consonant (or the one before the letter combination 'ᛗᚫᚾ' (man) in the case of a plural CRPlur. noun) you have the vowels : ᚫ, ᛖ, ᚴ, or ᚵ (a, e, é, or è), then the noun is feminine ; if : ᚩ, ᚳ, or ᚤ (â, ê, or û), then the noun is neutral ; and if : ᛁ, ᛟ, or ᚢ (i, o, or u), the the noun is masculine.
What are all the discernible types of nouns ?
Now let's make a table for easier understanding.
Complexity | Endings | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Simple, Singular | -iŋ, -oŋ, -uŋ | -âŋ, -êŋ, -ûŋ | -aŋ, -eŋ, -éŋ, -èŋ |
Simple, Plural | -im, -om, -um | -âm, -êm, -ûm | -am, -em, -ém, -èm |
CRSing., Singular | -iŋ, -oŋ, -uŋ | -âŋ, -êŋ, -ûŋ | -aŋ, -eŋ, -éŋ, -èŋ |
CRSing., Plural | -im, -om, -um | -âm, -êm, -ûm | -am, -em, -ém, -èm |
CRPlur., Singular | -im, -om, -um | -âm, -êm, -ûm | -am, -em, -ém, -èm |
CRPlur., Plural | -iman, -oman, -uman | -âman, -êman, -ûman | -aman, -eman, -éman, -èman |
Gender | Masculine | Neutral | Feminine |
Simple noun : A noun that isn't composed, it is just a root.
Complex noun : A noun that is composed of a root (or radical, always found at the end of the noun), and one or multiple prefixes. It can either be CRSing. (Complexe à Racine Singulière, which means Singular Rooted Complex), or CRPlur. (Complexe à Racine Plurielle, which means Plural Rooted Complex).
What are the other indiscernible types of nouns ?
Outside of that, we have the classifications we cannot inherently identify. These are wether a noun is animated or inanimated, or wether a noun is common or proper.